The Commerce Brief: Fri 26th Sept

Welcome to another exciting week in the world of eCommerce and retail 🛍️

🗓️ This week’s industry updates

🛒 eBay has signed an agreement to acquire Tise, Norway’s leading second-hand fashion and interiors marketplace, valued at $130m. Tise has 2.5m registered users across the Nordics, including over 1m in Norway. (source)

👔 John Lewis has launched a new own-brand premium menswear line, J. Lewis, as part of its strategy to elevate fashion credentials and expand its own-brand collections. (source)

📦 Zalando has unveiled stricter measures to curb high return rates, including warnings and potential temporary ordering suspensions for customers who return “a disproportionate amount.” (source)

💄 ULTA Beauty has confirmed Dubai Mall as the location for its second UAE flagship store, and announced further expansion into Saudi Arabia. (source)

🪑 Pottery Barn has launched its first UK webshop and announced a London pop-up, marking its first direct foray into Europe. (source)

🛠️ Kingfisher, owner of B&Q and Screwfix, has raised its profit forecast after strong demand for kitchens and garden products boosted first-half profits by 10.2% to £368m. (source)

🌍 OnBuy, the UK’s fastest-growing online marketplace, will expand to 20 European markets by the end of 2025, up from 12 today. (source)

🏬 Amazon will close all 19 Amazon Fresh stores in the UK and convert five into Whole Foods Market branches, marking the end of its cashier-less concept in the country. (source)

👟 JD Sports reported a 13.5% fall in adjusted profits to £351m for the six months to 2 August, citing weaker consumer spending and sales declines in all major markets, with North America hit hardest. (source)

👙 Nike has debuted its new women’s activewear brand in partnership with Kim Kardashian’s Skims in the UK. (source)

⚖️ Temu has been accused of avoiding UK corporation tax despite generating more than £553m in revenues, allegedly routing sales via Ireland, Singapore, and the Cayman Islands. (source)

👗 In The Style founder Adam Frisby has teamed up with content creator Perrie Sian to launch Reasn, a fashion label focused on inclusivity, with sizes 6–28 and petite/tall ranges. (source)

🎆 Arc’teryx has apologised after a fireworks display at a promotional event in the Tibetan plateau sparked backlash over environmental damage. (source)

🧩 Depop has launched a new in-app tool called Outfits, enabling users to build mood boards and style looks from listed items. (source)

🤖 ChatGPT now accounts for 20% of Walmart’s referral traffic, up from 15% in July. It also drives 20% to Etsy, 15% to Target, and 10% to eBay, highlighting its growing role in retail discovery. (source)

🛍️ Coggles, transitioning from THG to Frasers Group, has cancelled multiple brand orders and faces potential redundancies. (source)

🌿 Holland & Barrett has struck a concessions deal with Morrisons, adding to its existing shop-in-shop programme with Tesco. (source)

The Commerce Brief