There is inspiration aplenty in the retail world as we head into the weekend. Aldi is leading the way with its philanthropic endeavours in Ethiopia, while The Coop is venturing into music festivals to raise its profile. Adidas has released Game of Thrones inspired footwear and Burger King jumps on the subscription bandwagon. Have a great weekend and enjoy the read.
Changes at the top ▪ Amazon old-hand Tim Stone has left his current position as CFO of social media app Snap, which he has held for less than a year, to take on the same role at iconic car manufacturer Ford. It has been revealed departing Walmart CTO Jeremy King had been hired by picture sharing platform Pinterest as its head of engineering.
Impressive opening ▪ Levi Strauss’s shares surged 32% yesterday, jumping from the initial public offering price of USD 17 a share to USD 22.22. Analysts have been quick to comment, noting that the jean giant’s attention to social responsibility is why investors responded so quickly and another listing the three things to consider with Levi’s shift into the public markets.
Breakfast wars ▪ Burger King has become the first fast food restaurant to join the subscription game. The burger chain is promoting its USD 5 monthly coffee subscriptions as a way to lure customers into stores at breakfast time and check out their new morning offerings.
Good moves ▪ German discounter Aldi is committing GBP 200,000 to a Fairtrade project in Ethiopia that aims to empower women into leadership roles in the country’s flower sector. In a much-anticipated move, the grocery chain will remove plastic wrapping from cucumbers from April, a decision that will save 120 tonnes of plastic annually.
Music match ▪ British retailer The Co-operative is teaming up with contemporary 5-day music festival Glastonbury. The grocery chain will run a pop-up store selling the 175,000 festival-goers food, drinks, ponchos and sunscreen.
Profit hikes ▪ The UK’s largest independent toy retailer The Entertainer has posted a 31% jump in profits, while online sales are up 38%. Video game retailer Game Digital also enjoyed a 20% surge in profits, despite an overall sales decline.
Sky high ambitions ▪ Alibaba is ramping up its expansion of its cloud services and systems. The shift will create greater competition between the e-commerce company and other global leaders Amazon and Microsoft. Alibaba Cloud is currently run in over 200 countries and is China’s largest cloud provider.
Artificial intelligence ▪ Beijing-based internet giant JD.com has unveiled a new brand, JD iCity, which gives local governments AI-powered tools to build social credit databases and develop traffic infrastructure. Meanwhile, Facebook is a shining example of what happens with AI goes wrong and is receiving much criticism for the length of time it took to identify and remove the video posted by the gunman responsible for last week’s terrorist attacks on New Zealand.
Crystal ball gazing ▪ Retail forecasting is a key part of staying ahead of the game and maximising profitability. New technology and novel data are on the horizon that will change how retailers predict product demand. Check out what the future holds here.
Limited edition ▪ Germany’s Adidas is known for its collaborations with pop-culture, and the sportswear giant is at it again, this time releasing a line of shoes inspired by medieval fantasy television show Game of Thrones. Fans of the binge-worthy show can purchase sneakers inspired by the various houses, colours and insignia on the show for GBP 160.