Good morning.

2025 was an egg-ceptional year for the US egg market. Prices soared, and supermarket shelves frequently ran empty as avian flu hit supply.

Today, the script has flipped. Egg supply has now overtaken demand. Americans paid an average of $2.577 for a dozen large Grade A eggs in January — a 59% drop from last March’s record high of $6.227

Let’s dive into today’s edition.

Walmart has lost its long-held position as the world’s largest company by revenue, with Amazon edging ahead despite Walmart posting record results.

🏆 Retail Winner: The ecommerce giant generated $717 billion in sales in 2025, narrowly surpassing Walmart’s $713 billion. While about $464 billion came from its core online and marketplace business, high-margin segments — particularly Amazon Web Services (AWS), advertising, and Prime — drove overall expansion. AWS alone delivered nearly $129 billion in revenue

📉 E-commerce Surge: Walmart’s global ecommerce sales crossed $150 billion for the first time, rising 27% in the final quarter, supported by more than 4,600 Walmart stores and 600 Sam’s Club locations.

It is worth noting that, in December 2025, Walmart shifted its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Since then, its market value has crossed $1 trillion, up more than 21% over the past year.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge granted final approval for Saks Global’s $1 billion debtor-in-possession loan, providing fresh liquidity as the luxury department store group restructures. The ruling came after weeks of negotiations with brand partners and lenders.

Luxury labels, including Dolce & Gabbana and other vendors, initially objected, arguing the financing terms could allow lenders to claim collateral over merchandise supplied before the bankruptcy filing.

The company reached agreements clarifying that luxury goods supplied on consignment remain the brands' property, not Saks's, addressing fears of collateral claims on handbags, clothing, and jewellery.

With the disputes settled, the court cleared the financing, giving Saks new liquidity to continue operations and restructure while maintaining vendor relationships critical to its luxury retail model.

IKEA is expanding its U.S. footprint with plans to open 10 new stores in 2026, including its first city-center location in Los Angeles and its debut in Oklahoma.

The expansion highlights how the furniture retailer is reshaping its physical network to align with omnichannel demand. IKEA reported $5.3 billion in U.S. sales in FY2025, with 61 million store visits and more than 457 million online visits, indicating that shoppers are increasingly moving between digital browsing and store-based fulfillment.

To support that shift, the company is rolling out smaller-format stores, pickup locations, and shop-in-shop partnerships — including planning centers inside Best Buy — to bring inventory closer to customers and improve last-mile delivery efficiency.

New Balance reported global sales of $9.2 billion in 2025, up 19% year over year, marking its fifth straight year of double-digit growth as the century-old sneaker brand continues gaining market share.

Growth was broad-based, with North American sales rising 20% and European sales up 30%, while both the company’s apparel division and its owned retail operations crossed $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time, signaling diversification beyond footwear.

Since 2020, revenue has climbed 180%, driven by premium positioning, expansion of apparel, and stronger retail and digital experiences, with the company maintaining its target of reaching $10 billion in annual sales. The brand opened roughly 80 new stores in 2025 while repositioning as a premium label, lifting average prices about 30% over five years with tighter discounting.

Wayfair reported a return to operating profitability in 2025, driven by revenue growth across its core markets. Fourth-quarter net revenue rose 6.9% year-on-year to $3.33 billion, with U.S. sales up 7.4% to $2.94 billion and international revenue climbing 3.7% to $395 million.

The company posted $84 million in operating income, reversing a $117 million loss a year earlier, while gross profit reached $1.01 billion, or about 30% of revenue.

For the full year, revenue grew 5.1% to $12.45 billion (6.1% excluding the German market exit). Wayfair generated $17 million in operating income, compared with a $461 million loss in 2024, while net losses narrowed to $313 million from $492 million.

The U.S. retail industry welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling striking down parts of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, saying the decision could ease import costs and bring greater predictability to supply chains.

Trade groups, including the National Retail Federation (NRF), said a clearer policy would help businesses plan sourcing, pricing, and hiring. The court found that broad tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act exceeded the president's authority and remanded the case for dismissal.

Retailers are now seeking refunds on duties already paid, which the NRF said could provide an economic boost if returned to importers. However, it remains unclear how quickly refunds would be processed or whether shipments already in transit would still face tariffs.

The European Union has launched a formal investigation into Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein over concerns that the platform may be selling illegal goods and using design features that encourage excessive user engagement.

The probe falls under the Digital Services Act, which requires large online platforms to limit harmful content and improve transparency around algorithms.

Regulators will examine whether Shein’s safeguards adequately prevent the sale of illegal items — including age-restricted products — across the bloc. The investigation will also scrutinize recommendation systems, reward mechanisms, and other gamified features that authorities say could negatively affect users’ well-being.

U.S. retailers and restaurant chains are preparing for another wave of footprint reductions, with nearly 1,280 store closures planned for 2026, according to Business Insider.

The cuts follow an already difficult year for physical retail, after roughly 4,100 locations shut in 2025, as companies redirect investment toward e-commerce, profitability, and stronger flagship stores.

The largest closures are concentrated among apparel, department stores, and food chains. Francesca’s is winding down roughly 400 stores after filing for Chapter 11, while Wendy’s plans about 300 closures and Pizza Hut about 250 underperforming locations in the first half of the year.

Grocery and specialty retailers are also trimming networks. Kroger is closing 60 unprofitable stores, Saks Off 5th plans 57 closures amid Saks Global’s bankruptcy, and Newell Brands will shut 20 Yankee Candle locations as part of a restructuring.

eBay is acquiring secondhand fashion platform Depop from Etsy for $1.2 billion in cash, marking a major consolidation in the resale market and a strategic push into younger, social-commerce audiences. The deal, expected to close this spring, strengthens eBay’s position in fashion resale as shoppers shift toward circular consumption.

Depop brings a highly engaged Gen Z user base — nearly 90% of its 7 million active buyers are under 34 — giving eBay access to social-first shopping behaviours that traditional marketplaces struggle to replicate. The acquisition builds on eBay’s broader fashion strategy, including luxury authentication services and earlier investments in clothing rental.

For Etsy, the sale signals a return to its core handmade and vintage marketplace after its 2021 purchase of Depop. Under eBay ownership, Depop will continue operating as a standalone brand while leveraging eBay’s logistics, payments, and marketplace infrastructure to scale globally.