The Commerce Brief: Fri 29th August

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

🗓️ This week’s industry updates

📲 Co-op has updated its electronic shelf labels with NFC technology, allowing shoppers to “tap to join” its membership scheme directly from their mobile phones. (source)

⚽ Decathlon is doubling down on soccer in Spain, opening 18 new Pro Shop shop-in-shops across regions where the sport is most popular, adding more than 4,000 sqm of retail space. (source)

🛍️ End has cut its annual operating loss from £43.6m to £11m in the year ending 30 March 2025, following its acquisition by Apollo last October. (source)

👗 Aligne, the British womenswear brand behind TikTok-viral tailored dresses and 12,000-person waitlists, has expanded into the U.S. through a new partnership with Nordstrom, launching in 20 stores and online. (source)

🛒 Macy’s has partnered with Amazon’s Retail Ads Service to let advertisers manage Macy’s sponsored product campaigns via the Amazon Ads console, aligning retail media workflows. (source)

🤖 Lululemon has appointed Ranju Das as its first Chief AI and Technology Officer, effective 2 September, to spearhead product innovation and AI strategy. (source)

🏈 Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker are moving ahead with their merger, as 99% of Foot Locker’s shareholders voted in favour. The deal is set to close on 8 September. (source)

♻️ Thrifting surges under tariffs – platforms like ThredUp, Depop and OfferUp are reporting record user growth as tariffs push shoppers toward duty-free secondhand options. ThredUp’s revenue rose 16% YoY to $77.7m, while Depop’s U.S. sales jumped 54%. (source)

👔 M&S has launched a new Instagram channel, M&S Man, to target the UK menswear market, worth £10.75bn annually. The retailer has also launched a resale service on eBay powered by Reskinned, allowing customers to trade in and shop pre-loved items. (source)

💊 Co-op has partnered with Holland & Barrett to expand its health and wellness offering, with ranges launching across 125 convenience stores from 27 August. (source)

🌎 H&M has entered Brazil for the first time with both a new physical store in São Paulo and an eCommerce launch via hm.com.br, marking its first simultaneous online and offline market entry. (source)

📉 JD Sports reported a 3% drop in group like-for-like revenues to £3.1m for Q2 and announced a further £100m share buyback, citing a challenging year ahead due to volatility and tariff pressures. (source)

📉 Debenhams Group widened pre-tax losses to £264m on sales of £2.3bn, down 10% YoY. Its youth brands Boohoo, PLT, and BoohooMan saw the steepest decline, with revenue down by over 20%. (source)

🕯️ Rituals has opened its 100th UK store and announced plans for 15 more stores across the UK and Ireland before year-end. (source)

The Commerce Brief