Mike O'Brien
Mike O’Brien has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for … well, quite a while. At Multichannel Merchant he focuses on the world of direct-to-customer operations and fulfillment, editing MCM’s weekly O+F Advisor newsletter, and programs the annual Ecommerce Operations Summit conference. Previously Mike was a senior account executive for Marx Communications, a boutique public relations firm working with marketing and advertising technology companies. Other past work includes stints as a media relations consultant for a concert promoter, a marketing communications specialist for a pharma software firm, a research analyst covering corporate e-learning and a daily newspaper reporter on every beat imaginable – except sports.
Boxed, the once high-flying online answer to price clubs like Costco, BJ’s Wholesale and Sam’s Club, is considering a bankruptcy filing if it can’t find a buyer as its struggles continue 15 months after going public in a much-anticipated SPAC deal. At the same time, Boxed said it plans to lay off about 25% of its 136 employees.
More bad Amazon news: 9,000 additional layoffs are planned on top of 18,000 previously announced, and there are efforts to block the $1.7 billion iRobot acquisition here and in the EU. On the plus side, the FTC reportedly won’t block Amazon’s purchase of One Medical, but reportedly not for lack of evidence of anticompetitive behavior.
FedEx on Thursday released its third-quarter earnings report, upping its full-year earnings forecast as cost-cutting measures like major layoffs and air freight cutbacks take hold, even as shipping volumes globally remain challenged, boosting its stock more than 9% in after-hours trading.
Outdoor co-op REI, high-end outdoor apparel/gear brand Arc’teryx, fashion brand Amour Vert, running supplier On and luxury brand Philip Lim stood out in the first recommerce leaders index compiled by Trove, as the growing category has added an estimated 100 programs in the past year.
Society Brands, an Ohio-based acquirer with a small-but-growing portfolio, asks its founders to stick around as brand directors, incenting them with an equity stake from a future liquidity event or IPO over the next few years as the company accelerates its pace of acquisition. The company’s six brands were all acquired in 2022.
Liquidity Services, a major marketplace for returned and overstock merchandise, has opened a second AllSurplus Deals location at its facility in Hebron, KY, allowing local consumers to purchase deals online, then pick them up at its warehouse. The first opened in Phoenix in 1999, and plans call for more facilities to add pick-up services.
Adtech provider Criteo has acquired Australian firm Brandcrush, expanding its media offerings to in-store ad inventory by providing a platform for automating various aspects of buying, selling, booking, placing, measuring and reporting on multimedia ad placements in physical locations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Pitney Bowes announced a refresh of its board in a proxy statement, but it was not enough to satisfy a large stakeholder that has put forward its own slate of five outside board candidates ahead of the company’s annual meeting in May, saying wholesale changes are needed to boost performance.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a case involving FedEx which had the potential to set precedent by giving workers the right to join “collective action” lawsuits when they live outside the state where the issue arose. The worker classification issue has been heating up in recent years, including California’s controversial AB5 law.
Cincy Brands, a startup acquirer, is focused on measured growth in the “better for you” category of brands offering healthier, less chemical-intensive products, seeing itself as the opposite of mega-aggregators that grew massive in a hurry and have found themselves retrenching.