Walmart Wins NYC Without Stores 📈

Walmart is steadily expanding its e-commerce presence in New York City, despite being unable to open physical stores due to long-standing opposition from labor unions and activist groups. According to the Financial Times, Walmart’s online sales have risen across all five boroughs over the past five years, underscoring the retailer’s ability to penetrate dense urban markets digitally.

📱Online Power: Data from Advan Research shows Walmart’s online sales have doubled in Manhattan and increased by 90%-120% in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, with a 44% increase in Staten Island.

Website traffic and app engagement have also climbed, with SimilarWeb reporting double-digit year-over-year growth in visits from New York City users and Apptopia noting a 7.1% increase in Walmart app opens in downstate New York compared with last year.

🚚 Delivery Arm: Walmart offers same-day delivery of fresh produce and shelf-stable food staples in parts of three New York City boroughs from stores outside the city, while providing alternative delivery options in the other two boroughs.

U.S. retailers are pressing Congress to act quickly on legislation to address the nation’s penny shortage, warning that the lack of federal guidance is disrupting cash transactions and costing businesses millions. The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) said the issue intensified after the U.S. Treasury ended penny production this summer, citing cost savings and inefficiencies.

🪙 Penniless: Retailers say they are operating in a legal gray area, particularly around how cash transactions should be rounded now that pennies are increasingly unavailable. RILA argues that only Congress can provide the necessary uniform national rules, especially for chains operating across multiple states.

📉 Added Loss: According to a November RILA survey of 25 major retailers, nearly one-quarter reported that more than 1,000 of their store locations are without pennies. About two-thirds said they round transactions in consumers’ favor, a practice that protects shoppers but can result in millions of dollars in losses for retailers.

📖 Law Time: RILA urged lawmakers to act early in the second session of the 119th Congress, warning that further delays risk continued disruption to cash payments and unnecessary costs for both retailers and consumers.

Saks Global Enterprises is considering a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing as a last resort ahead of more than $100 million in interest payments due by December 30, according to a Bloomberg report. The company is also exploring emergency measures to bolster liquidity, including asset sales and short-term financing, while lenders have held confidential talks around a potential debtor-in-possession loan.

The pressure comes just over a year after Saks raised approximately $3.6 billion from bond investors to finance a sweeping turnaround plan centered on its acquisition of Neiman Marcus.

Instead of stabilizing operations, the deal significantly increased Saks’ leverage and failed to resolve persistent vendor-payment issues, leading some suppliers to halt shipments and accelerating cash strain.

A $950 million deal to sell more than 100 JCPenney stores collapsed, derailing a major effort to liquidate the retailer’s real estate assets ahead of a court-imposed deadline

Boston-based Onyx Partners agreed to acquire 119 properties from the Copper Property CTL Pass-Through Trust, an entity formed during JCPenney’s 2020 bankruptcy. The all-cash transaction, priced at roughly $8 million per store, was set to close just days before the deadline but fell apart at the last minute, according to an SEC filing.

Copper Property oversees about 160 stores and six distribution centers and must complete its liquidation by January 30, 2026. The deal reportedly faced resistance from trust investors, some of whom argued the valuation was too low compared with prior sales that fetched several million dollars more per location.

Lululemon plans to enter six new international markets in 2026, marking the largest single-year country expansion in the brand’s history. The expansion will be executed through Lululemon’s newly introduced franchise partnership model, extending the company’s footprint across Europe and the Asia Pacific.

The new markets include Greece, Austria, Poland, Hungary, and Romania, as well as the previously announced entry into India. Arion Retail Group will lead the European rollout, while Tata CLiQ will support Lululemon’s India launch. Customers in all six markets will initially access the brand through online channels, with plans to open physical stores announced in 2026.

The company currently operates in more than 30 global markets, and the new launches follow recent franchise-led expansions in Italy, Denmark, Turkey, and Belgium, reinforcing its push to accelerate international growth through partnerships.

Amazon has decided to stop pursuing commercial drone deliveries in Italy, citing regulatory and business constraints that no longer support the project. The company said the decision followed a strategic review, despite what it described as constructive engagement and progress with Italian aerospace regulators.

Italy’s civil aviation authority, ENAC, called the move unexpected, saying Amazon cited internal company policy linked to recent financial developments within the group. In December 2024, Amazon announced it had completed initial drone delivery tests in San Salvo, in central Abruzzo.

In a statement, Amazon said that while discussions with aviation regulators had been positive, “the broader business regulatory framework in the country does not, at this time, support our longer-term objectives” for its Prime Air drone delivery program, prompting the company to halt further plans in Italy.

Nestlé said it has completed the sale of its remaining 40% stake in packaged meat business Herta to Spanish food group Casa Tarradellas, bringing their joint venture to a close. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The partnership was formed in 2019, when Nestlé sold an initial stake in Herta to Casa Tarradellas. Nestlé later placed the Herta charcuterie business—known for cold cuts and meat-based products—under strategic review, citing a mismatch with its focus on health, nutrition, and plant-based offerings.

The divestment comes as Nestlé continues a broader portfolio reshaping under its new CEO, with businesses such as water and vitamins also under review. The world’s largest packaged food company has signaled it may pursue further sales or partnerships as it reallocates capital toward faster-growing segments.

Coty is overhauling its supply chain to respond more quickly to shifting consumer demand and reverse a recent sales slump.

The beauty group, which owns brands including CoverGirl, Rimmel, and Sally Hansen and licenses fragrances for Hugo Boss and Marc Jacobs, reported an 8% decline in like-for-like revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, underscoring pressure from newer, fast-growing beauty brands and volatile demand.

As part of the reset, Coty has sharply cut product development timelines, reducing the time to launch a new fragrance from as long as 18 months to as little as weeks in some cases.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Chief Global Supply Chain Officer Graeme Carter said the company has eliminated delays caused by sequential approvals and slow artwork processes, replacing them with more agile workflows and digital tools to accelerate design, signoff, and production.

U.S. tariffs and global supply-chain disruptions have sharply increased leather prices in 2025, driving higher retail costs for boots, handbags, and furniture, with some categories seeing near double-digit price increases.

Companies such as Twisted X, Tapestry (owner of Coach and Kate Spade), and Steve Madden are facing sustained margin pressure from higher tariffs, freight costs, and scarce hides, according to a CNBC report.

Analysts warn the impact is far from over. The Yale Budget Lab estimates leather goods prices could rise by roughly 22% over the next one to two years, driven by tariff exposure across major sourcing hubs such as China, Vietnam, Italy, and India, as well as persistent logistics bottlenecks.

U.S. holiday retail sales have increased by roughly 4% so far this holiday season, according to preliminary data released by Visa and Mastercard, signaling resilient consumer spending despite tighter household budgets.

Both companies said consumers increasingly used artificial intelligence tools to compare prices and relied on early promotions to stretch budgets. Visa reported U.S. retail spending excluding autos, gasoline, and restaurants rose 4.2%, slightly below its earlier forecast, while Mastercard said sales across retail and food service climbed 3.9% year over year.

Online sales outpaced brick-and-mortar growth, aided by convenience and promotions, though physical stores still accounted for 73% of transactions, Visa said. Electronics led spending, rising 5.8%, followed by clothing and accessories at 5.3%.