Amazon Doubles Down on Groceries 🛒

Amazon has rolled out same-day delivery of fresh groceries — including meat, eggs, and produce — to more than 1,000 cities across the U.S., with plans to reach at least 2,300 locations by the end of 2025. The service, tested in Phoenix and a handful of cities last year, has boosted repeat orders as shoppers increasingly add bananas, avocados, and other perishables to their baskets.

📦 Prime Advantage: Prime members get the service free on orders over $25 in most cities, or for a $2.99 fee on smaller orders. Non-Prime shoppers can also use it, but pay $12.99 per order regardless of size.

💪🏻 Intense Competition: The move intensifies competition with Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, and Instacart — whose shares dropped after the announcement.

Why is Amazon doing this? The expansion marks Amazon’s latest push to dominate the $1 trillion U.S. grocery market, positioning it head-to-head with Walmart in the race for fast and affordable grocery delivery.

Ulta Beauty and Target announced they will end their shop-in-shop partnership in August 2026, closing more than 600 Ulta mini-stores that had been opened inside Target locations since 2021. The move marks a setback for Target, which has struggled with stagnant sales and declining foot traffic over the past year.

💄 Shop-in-Shop: Since 2021, Target has added over 600 Ulta Beauty shop-in-shops, bringing the total to nearly one-third of its 1,981 U.S. stores—meaning roughly 1 in 3 Targets now includes an Ulta inside.

🛍️ Limited Display: Ulta Beauty at Target locations offers a smaller, rotating selection of products compared to Ulta’s standalone stores, and they are staffed by Target employees.

What does this mean for Target? Without Ulta Beauty shop-in-shops, Target would lose a major traffic driver and growth engine. Beauty has been one of the retailer’s strongest categories—growing nearly 7% last year—so scaling back or missing Ulta’s presence would be a significant setback to its long-term strategy.

Canadian clothing maker Gildan Activewear has struck a $2.2 billion cash-and-stock deal to acquire U.S. undergarment company Hanesbrands. The deal values Hanesbrands at about $6 per share — a 24% premium — and is expected to close in late 2025 or early 2026.

The merger brings together Hanesbrands’ strong retail presence through labels like Hanes, Bonds, Maidenform, and Playtex with Gildan’s established wholesale dominance across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

Hanesbrands, spun off from Sara Lee in 2006, has struggled in recent years with declining sales, debt burdens, and mixed results from acquisitions. Its Champion brand was sold last year to Authentic Brands for $1.2 billion as part of a broader restructuring.

American Eagle’s controversial Sydney Sweeney ad campaign is being linked to a sharp decline in store visits. Foot traffic fell 8.96% year-over-year in the week starting August 3 and was already down 3.9% the prior week, according to retail data firm Pass_by. Before the campaign launched on July 23, the brand had been seeing steady year-over-year growth, with visits up 5.9% in early July.

Pass_by analysts said the steep and sudden decline suggests more than seasonal trends, pointing to reputational fallout from the campaign. While online traffic surged after the ad, sales remained flat.

Competitors like Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, Gap, and Urban Outfitters also experienced traffic declines in early August, but none as steep as American Eagle’s.

US retail sales climbed 0.5% in July, following an upwardly revised 0.9% increase in June, according to Commerce Department data. Nine of 13 categories posted gains, with motor vehicle sales recording their strongest jump since March. Online retailers and general merchandise stores also saw robust growth, aided by Amazon’s extended Prime Day and discount campaigns at Walmart and Target.

Still, consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell in early August, reflecting concerns over a weakening jobs market, higher debt burdens, and uncertainty around tariffs. Spending at restaurants and bars dropped sharply, underscoring caution in discretionary categories.

Economists warned that while July’s data suggests resilience, slower income growth and inflation pressures may weigh on consumers in the second half of the year.

The Trump administration is in talks to take a direct stake in Intel, a move aimed at reviving the struggling U.S. chipmaker and strengthening domestic semiconductor manufacturing. President Trump met Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan last week, and Bloomberg reported that discussions include government funding in exchange for equity.

Intel, once a dominant force in U.S. tech, has lost ground to rivals after missing key technology shifts and delaying its Ohio fab project. Its shares jumped more than 7% after news of the potential deal broke. The White House has not confirmed details but emphasized that any agreement remains speculative.

The proposal comes as the administration seeks deeper involvement in critical industries.

Fast fashion giant Shein reported a sharp rise in its British sales, reaching $2.8 billion in 2024 — a 32.3% increase from the previous year. The UK is now Shein’s third-largest market after the U.S. and Germany, with pretax profit up 56.6% to £38.25 million.

The online retailer expanded its footprint with a Liverpool pop-up, a Christmas bus tour across 12 cities, and new offices in London and Manchester. Known for ultra-low prices and constant promotions, Shein has taken share from rivals like ASOS and H&M as inflation-weary shoppers look for bargains.

Shein’s growth has also benefited from customs duty exemptions on low-value parcels, which allow goods to ship directly from China to consumers largely tariff-free. However, those breaks are being rolled back — the U.S. has already scrapped its $800 de minimis exemption, the EU will follow in 2028, and Britain is reviewing its own rules.

Kroger and C&S Wholesale Grocers have reached a confidential settlement in a lawsuit tied to Kroger’s abandoned $25 billion merger with Albertsons. C&S, which had been lined up to acquire nearly 600 divested stores under the deal, sued Kroger in March, claiming it was owed a $125 million termination fee after the merger collapsed.

In a joint court filing on August 11, both companies said they resolved all claims and the case was dismissed “with prejudice,” preventing C&S from refiling the same claims. Neither company disclosed whether Kroger paid the termination fee.

Kroger said it was pleased to resolve the matter and looked forward to maintaining a “friendly relationship” with C&S. The distributor echoed the sentiment, saying it is focused on growth after recently striking deals to acquire Southeastern Grocers and SpartanNash.

Australian plant-based meat company V2food has acquired U.S.-based Daring Foods, giving it a direct foothold in the American market as it pursues global expansion. The deal was announced alongside a new partnership with Japanese food giant Ajinomoto, which will help V2food scale into Asia and Africa.

Daring, known for its vegan chicken products, will continue operating under its brand in the U.S., while the acquisition provides V2food with a platform to introduce its own products. Despite U.S. plant-based meat sales falling 28% between 2022 and 2024, Daring has bucked the trend, growing revenue by 24% in 2023 and becoming the top brand in the non-breaded plant-based chicken segment.

V2food said the acquisition, combined with Ajinomoto’s network, strengthens its ambition to be among the top three global players in plant-based protein.

McDonald’s has introduced a new DoorDash-powered ordering site that allows U.S. customers to place delivery orders directly through McDonalds.com without needing a DoorDash account or app. DoorDash drivers will continue to handle fulfillment.

The move is part of McDonald’s “4D” growth strategy—Digital, Delivery, Drive-Thru, and Development—and is designed to create a more seamless and personalized ordering experience. With millions of visitors to its website each month, the channel gives the chain another way to drive delivery sales while reaching customers who avoid third-party apps.

The company has set a goal to raise the share of delivery sales originating in its app to 30% by 2027.

Adidas has issued a public apology after Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the sportswear giant for releasing a shoe that replicated traditional Indigenous huarache sandals without crediting local artisans. The “Oaxaca slip-on,” launched just five days earlier with designer Willy Chavarria, featured the signature leather weave of Oaxaca’s Villa Hidalgo Yalálag community.

The backlash followed condemnation from Oaxacan officials, who accused Adidas of cultural appropriation. In its statement, the company acknowledged the mistake, reaffirmed respect for Indigenous heritage, and pledged to engage in “respectful dialogue” with the community. Chavarria also expressed regret, saying the design should have been developed in direct partnership with Oaxacan artisans.

StubHub is moving ahead with its long-awaited public listing, aiming to launch its IPO in September after pausing plans earlier this year due to market turmoil from President Trump’s tariffs. The ticketing marketplace filed an updated prospectus and plans to start its roadshow after Labor Day.

The company reported Q1 revenue of $397.6 million, up 10% year over year, with operating income of $26.8 million, though net losses widened to $35.9 million. Gross merchandise sales hit $2.08 billion, a 15% increase. StubHub had previously sought a $16.5 billion valuation but did not disclose pricing details in the filing.

Founded in 2000 and reacquired by co-founder Eric Baker for $4 billion in 2020, StubHub remains a major player in the ticketing industry, competing with Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, and others.