Apparel industry veteran Maria Borromeo describes her teenage daughter as someone who “has always pushed back on societal and post-gender norms.”

Borromeo—who’s held leadership positions at Alexander McQueen, Thakoon, and most recently as the president and CEO of Hudson Jeans—wanted to create a brand that could cater to those like her daughter, who identifies as gender non-conforming.

• “Everything was extremely binary—for children, especially—and then when she got to the preteen and teenage years, it became very difficult when her body started to change,” Borromeo told Retail Brew. “This was very much in response to that need.”

Hot start: In March, Borromeo started Clothing for Humans—or ClHu (pronounced “Clue”), which is an online, all-gender clothing brand with the mission of serving those who don’t fall into the gender binary or subscribe to traditional size schemes.

• In the five months since the company’s debut, Borromeo said ClHu has seen virtually no clothing returns. In fact, the first return came at the tail end of June.
• 15% of company revenue, which Borromeo declined to disclose, has come from repeat customers.

Slow burn: The company has built-in QR-code technology that embeds a digital ID in each piece of clothing for customers to add personalized content for eventual buyers to see before purchasing.

Keep reading to see how ClHu focuses its sizing and resale strategy.—KM

As grocery shoppers’ wallets continue to be pinched, they’re swapping out premium plant-based proteins for something a little less pricey, according to Beyond Meat.

The plant-based meat maker reported another quarter of lackluster earnings last week, with net revenue down 1.6% YoY and $97.1 million in net loss, dropping its full-year outlook from the range of $560 million–$620 million to $470 million–$520 million.

• It also laid off 40 employees (4% of its workforce) to cut costs.

Where’s the beef? Its products’ premium pricing was largely to blame, Beyond Meat founder, president and CEO Ethan Brown said, as the decrease in volume for Beyond Meat’s US biz was due to consumers’ shifts to animal protein and private-label products. (Target’s Good & Gather, Kroger’s Simple Truth, and Amazon’s Fresh have also introduced plant-based meat products over the past two years.)

• Beyond Meat ground beef sells for $8.35 per pound, while standard ground beef is $4.90 per pound on average, Brown noted.
• He pointed to the recent success of Hormel Foods’ Spam, which marked its seventh year of consecutive growth in December and has historically sold well during times of recession.

“That is a very difficult proposition when consumers have very high levels of inflation going on and their buying power in grocery is declining,” he said. “There are a number of confounding factors. We went from a pandemic into record inflation, highest in 40 years. And for a sector that is still gathering its feet and is still in sort of the first set of downs, that’s a very difficult set of conditions to navigate.”

• Beyond layoffs, Beyond Meat is reducing operating, marketing, and commercialization expenses to lower its internal costs.

“We have to get through this period to see a resumption of growth,” Brown said.

Cut your losses: Beyond Meat isn’t alone: The plant-based meat sector as a whole had a tough quarter, seeing its first dip in household penetration in four years, Brown noted.

Last week, meat company Maple Leaf Foods also reported underwhelming results for its plant protein subsidiary, Greenleaf Foods. Sales sank 18.4% YoY due to low retail volume amid rising prices, its CFO Geer Verellen said. CEO Michael McCain said that while the company once believed in a “transformational category outcome,” for plant protein, it “no longer believes that it will materialize,” so it’s reducing its investment in the sector to focus on profitability.—EC

Parents and caregivers are doing the math on rising back-to-school costs, and ads for Amazon, Old Navy, and American Eagle are targeted to meet them halfway, writes Jenn Brice for Marketing Brew:

Back-to-school season often means splurging on $30 water bottles and denim hauls. But this year, with inflation high and a recession (maybe, maybe not) looming, families are more cost-conscious.

Just 36% of parents said they could pay for back-to-school shopping without any issues this year, compared to 52% last year, according to Morning Consult. Brands are taking notice, promising low prices and price freezes to help parents in their efforts to keep their kids clothed and backpacks packed going into the new school year.

Here are a few retail brands promising to help parents prepare for the next semester.

Today’s top retail reads.

Shedding light: As the e-commerce boom slows and rates across commercial real estate cool, warehouses are caught in the crossfire. (Financial Times)

Lap of luxury: Inside Chicago’s star-studded fashion scene and how two retailers are making their mark on menswear in Windy City. (Women’s Wear Daily)

Cultural icon: Sales of L.L. Bean’s classic monogrammed totes are on the rise, this time with a personalization twist that only Gen Z could bring. (the New York Times)

So, what’s new in tech? Want more of the latest news at the intersection of tech and retail? Emerging Tech Brew covers the latest happenings, trends, and changes hitting the tech world, all in one place. Sign up here.

What happened in the world of retail this week in…1851 and beyond? Retail Brew takes you way, way, way back.

• On August 9, 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden was first published, selling just 300 copies in its first year.
• On August 11, 1992, the Mall of America opened its doors in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• On August 12, 1851, Isaac Singer patented the commercial sewing machine.
• On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal opened for cargo shipping.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Q2 outlook: E-commerce marketplaces turn to ad revenue for growth
• How New Balance tackles its uphill battles with domestic manufacturing
• What retailers need to know about credit-card legislation being considered by Congress