Recommerce platform Trove has raised $30 million in a Series E round, bringing its total haul to more than $150 million as integrates its software with major 3PLs, eyes European expansion and plans to add vertical categories later this year beyond its sweet spot of outdoor and luxury retailers and brands. Trove powers recommerce for Carhartt, lululemon, Patagonia, REI, Allbirds and Levi Strauss.
When it comes to circular apparel, brands are not acting fast enough to make a difference in the race to a more sustainable approach for the fashion industry. Consulting firm … Continue Reading →
Generative AI, better known by the OpenAI version called ChatGPT in Microsoft’s Bing search engine, is suddenly everywhere all at once, shaking up whole industries and offering to optimize pretty much every single business function and solve all your problems. But what’s it all about? Join our webinar on June 8 to find out.
A new global study by IBM found that 61% of CPGs and retailers are purposefully aligning sustainability and operational goals: 77% said sustainability investments will accelerate business growth. Luq Niazi, a global managing partner at IBM Consulting, talks about how companies are allocating resources for sustainability, and how to communicate your efforts to consumers without greenwashing.
It was quite a week in the ever-expanding universe of generative AI, as the arms race among tech titans escalates, new solutions proliferate and more retailers jump in with both feet. From Elon Musk to Google, Amazon, Walmart and Levi Strauss, more companies are moving beyond the experimentation stage and planting a flag as a wide range of applications hit the market.
While iconic denim maker Levi Strauss has been a direct-to-consumer sales powerhouse for the past few years, an area where many brands large and small have placed their bets for sustained growth as wholesale has struggled, the company’s DTC numbers slipped a bit in the fourth quarter.
Narvar is letting retailers offer customers the convenience of home pickup of returns within one to 10 days for a convenience fee, a service that was piloted at 70 companies in Q4. The home pickup service is currently offered in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, with plans to expand to about 100 more markets.
On the surface DTC seems like a no-brainer: Cut out the middleman, increase margins, gain customer insights in an increasingly crowded retail marketplace. However, this pivot will still be difficult for larger brands. Let’s take a look at some of the roadblocks and lessons retailers can learn from those who have been successful.
Ecommerce technology provider Stackline has received $130 million in funding from UK-based private equity firm TA Associates, on top of a $50 million investment from Goldman Sachs’ growth equity team in November, using it to create new products, pursue foreign markets and look ahead to an IPO.
The growth in online sales, the scarcity of ecommerce fulfillment space and increasing customer demands have all merged to drive interest in a particular kind of offering: Warehouse-as-a-Service (WaaS). Find out what’s behind the trend and what some startups and traditional 3PLs are doing to meet the need.