Category Archives

Bed Bath & Beyond is going beyond… normal company operations and calling for back-up by bringing in two top management consulting firms. The firms are supposed to help the company cut costs and improve merchandise. The additional help isn’t a bad idea either given the company’s share price just dropped 25% on Thursday.

Customers are going elsewhere… like to Target and TJX-owned HomeGoods. Given the fact that the market is doing so well, dropping 25% is pretty horrific. It’s not just the market doing well, homewares and home-related products are selling like crack – but not for Bed Bath & Beyond who sells those things.

It’s not all bad… because the company has improved upon its online sales by making 10% of total sales online. However, the housewares retailer is still getting crushed by companies like Amazon and Wayfair. Maybe they should start selling universal remote controls…

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Apparently, the shorter the name… the cooler you are. Starting in January, Dunkin’ Donuts will be known only as “Dunkin’.” So the word “Donuts” will be missing from advertisements, boxes, and signage at new and remodeled stores and on the company’s official social media accounts.

You know the drill… Dunkin’ Donuts doesn’t want people to think that they only specialize in making donuts. The company specializes in coffees, teas, speedy service, and fast food – and they have donuts, of course. Beverages, mainly coffee, make up about 60% of the company’s sales. The rebranding is supposed to modernize the brand and the experience for customers.

This has been a long time coming… because the company announced last year it was thinking about such a move. Dunkin’ even tested dropping the ‘Donuts’ at stores in California and Massachusetts. The name-change is just-in-time for the company to open 1,000 new US stores by the end of 2020. But call it what you want – we call it delicious.

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Arby’s has “the meats”… and now they’ve got “the Sonic” because the company just announced that they will be purchasing Sonic for $2.3 billion. Inspire Brands is a private equity-backed firm that owns Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings – and now they have Sonic by paying 20% over market value.

We all know Sonic… the company is famous for weird advertisements and a retro outdoor dining set up. The company also has been known to launch strange new menu items, such as pickle juice slushies (okay, maybe there’s a reason these guys are struggling). Sonic has been getting crushed by the likes of McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s and company sales have been declining.

But don’t worry Sonic-lovers… because nothing will change the establishment that you have grown to love. The restaurant chain, with over 3,600 locations, will continue to operate independently. This deal represents another major-merger in the fast-food industry as struggling companies look to remain competitive.

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We have another major deal… with SiriusXM buying Pandora for $3.5 billion! The combination of SiriusXM and Pandora will create the largest audio entertainment company in the industry. And Spotify, Apple, and Amazon streaming services should be worried about what’s to come…

They were already huge… because SiriusXM has 36 million subscribers in North America. However, the company was formed by combining Sirius and XM Satellite radio services back in 2008, so they are no stranger to transactions like this. To add to the fun, Pandora, the streaming music service, has over 70 million active users.

It’s already working for Pandora… and SiriusXM put $480 million to purchase 19% of Pandora’s shares in 2017. The Pandora’s stock was down 35% before the investment; but now, the company is doing better than ever with a share price that has nearly doubled since. Shares of Pandora were up 9% in premarket trading.

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It’s not about watching weight… it is about watching [your] health and wellbeing! The company still aspires to be the “vest weight management program on the planet” but also wants you to focus on eating healthier, exercising, and being more positive. Now, instead of Weight Watchers, the company will be known as ‘WW.’

Well, it is a start… to making programs more exciting and also more appealing to men (but they will still probably get made fun of for joining). The company now aspires to get you eating well, connecting with others, and enjoying life. So it’s more of a lifestyle than a diet program now.

Some of the new programs… include the Freestyle program which gives you more food options. WW has also teamed up with meditation company Headspace for some added wellbeing built into the company’s app. Shares of the company were up over 4% on Monday. Here is to hoping WW members remain small, but its profits grow large.

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Here’s the latest… Papa John’s is looking to change their logo. In August, the company filed a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the updated look. The new look comes on the heels of two ad campaigns centered around winning back customers that are currently leaving in droves.

The new logo is said to be… “more streamlined, more contemporary” according to a professor of marketing at NYU. And we agree – the old logo looks boring and outdated. The new logo reads “Papa” and “Johns” in two rectangular boxes and is notably missing the company’s “Better ingredients. Better pizza” slogan. Oh, and they dropped the apostrophe…so you know it’s not John Schnatter’s pizza anymore (is that petty?).

So, why don’t they change the name… well, although it is tainted, the Papa John’s name still resonates with pizza lovers everywhere. John Schnatter would probably have to do something truly vulgar to make the company drop the name entirely. Until then, it looks like dropping the apostrophe will do the trick?

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If you are unfamiliar with Henri Bendel… don’t worry because most people are in the same boat. The brand was founded in 1895 and became best-known for its designer purses and shoes. L Brands, the owner of big-time brands like Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, acquired Henri Bendel around 30 years ago.

And after 123 years in business… the company will be closing up shop in its remaining 23 locations, including its iconic Saks Fifth Avenue spot which opened way back in 1913. This move comes at a time where L Brands stock is down 55% on the year; that number alone is pretty bad, but those results are magnified by the fact other retailers are having record-breaking years.

Here’s why they are shutting down… L Brands is trying to “improve company profitability and focus on our larger brands that have greater growth potential.” Sound familiar? This is something we have seen play out multiple times this year – companies cutting ties with weaker brands and going all-in on what’s working (or sort of working). Still, 123 years is one helluva run.

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Remember Build-a-Bear’s … “Pay Your Age” promotion that blew up in the company’s face? Yep – you remember, we remember, they remember – everyone remembers. Every child and their mother (literally) came to get a bear that day. And even though customers left disappointed when stores closed early due to lack of inventory, Build-A-Bear made some serious brick-and-mortar sales.

Long lines at the mall… is something that never happens anymore – except when there is a ridiculously good promotion going on. However, Build-a-Bear has been re-thinking its business model and has bolstered their online presence. After all, Build-a-Bear is usually expensive as $#!t and promotions can’t save them forever.  But it’s BUILD-a-Bear – isn’t half the fun building the bear?

Well, now you can also… order-a-bear, on the internet, like a normal, boring adult. The stuffed-animal company has closed underperforming stores and opened new stores in more popular locations, including three stores in the Mall of America. C’mon, people – Build-a-Bear is an experience, don’t order it online.

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Not everyone is dodging the tariffs… or at least not one company and that company is Ford. Donald Trump tweeted saying “This is just the beginning. This car can now be BUILT IN THE U.S.A. and Ford will pay no tariffs!” to the company. However, we have come to find that such a reason wasn’t actually “the reason” for Ford building cars in China.

Americans don’t like… the Focus Active which is why it won’t be built in the United States. The model is expected to sell fewer than 50,000 units in the United States, so why not make the car where it will sell? That is what the car-maker is doing. Although, Ford won’t be importing any of the vehicles to the states because of tariffs – so I guess they are tariff dodgers after all.

It’s not just the Focus Active… that American consumers don’t like – it’s sedans and small cars altogether. To combat this, Ford is reallocating $7 billion of R&D money from cars to trucks and SUVs. It’s not just Ford, either – General Motors and Fiat Chrysler also plan to focus on the larger automobiles, as well. Who knew sedans were out of style?

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If you can read between the lines… you can see that Barnes & Noble is in trouble. Sales were down 6.1% last quarter compared to the previous year. The decline in sales comes as a result of far fewer customers coming in the door. Actually, far fewer customers are coming through the website, as well.

Sell, sell, sell… is what investors did after the company’s poor performance. The book-sellers troubles were only magnified given that other companies did so well this quarter. The company has over 600 stores and 23,000 employees; but, we are likely to see those numbers start to dwindle down. Not only is the store losing customers, but they also have an ongoing (and high-profile) feud with their former CEO.

Too big… for the small-town bookstore feel that has made local bookstores successful and too inconvenient to get customers off Amazon – what is Barnes & Noble to do? Actually, that’s not our problem…although, we hear they have a “strong” book lineup on tap for fall and Christmas. Hm, we’ll see how that goes…