There’s Old Navy, the Gap chain founded in 1994 and named after a now-closed bar in Paris, and then there’s the older Navy, founded in 1775 as George Washington was leading the American Revolution effort against the redcoats.

The two may seem to share little in common, besides the fact that one commissions cargo ships and the other is an unrelenting purveyor of cargo shorts. But something else binds them: They’re both in the retail business.

The Navy operates more than 300 Navy Exchange (NEX) retail stores on 92 naval bases worldwide, ranging from self-checkout convenience stores as small as 200 square feet to sprawling department stores that are 200,000 square feet.

In 2022, sales at NEX stores totaled $2.3 billion, with an operating profit of $39.2 million, much of which ($29.2 million) went back to support the Navy community through its Morale, Welfare, and Recreation programs.

Active-duty, retirees, and their families are among those eligible to shop at the stores. The draw for shoppers (the Navy prefers “patrons”), along with the convenience of being on-base, is that there’s no sales tax, and beyond the tax savings, NEX claims, prices on average are more than 20% lower than at other stores.

But Rich Honiball, EVP and global chief merchandising and marketing officer for the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM), which oversees NEX, said the stores can’t thrive on those attributes alone.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Tesla advertises its cars as having a smooth ride, but following the prices for its vehicles has been anything but. Tesla has dropped prices multiple times in 2023, and then in April, it raised the prices of its two most expensive models.

Now, automotive industry economists and experts are left wondering: Is there a method behind Tesla’s up-and-down pricing changes?

Check out this investigation from CFO Brew to find out how the nontraditional car manufacturer’s sales and market share are expected to evolve.

While some retailers have struggled to keep profits high as consumer spending slows, Nike has come out as somewhat of an outlier, surpassing analyst expectations for first-quarter profits, Reuters reported.

The retailer’s global revenue rose 2% year over year and its inventory was down 10% from a year ago. The wins happened even as the company increased its sneaker and apparel prices to combat declining demand.

Prior to the Q1 earnings report, investors were afraid Nike would eventually succumb to a steep discounting strategy, like several other retailers that have resorted to promotions to keep up with competitors.

While brands like Zara have also hiked prices, companies like Macy’s and Foot Locker recently “cautioned the market about weak consumer spending,” prompting the industry to rethink cutting prices.

Keep reading here.—JS

“Bush’s is selling Halloween costumes this year. Yes, the bean company. And it’s not even the brand’s first foray into fashion,” writes Marketing Brew’s Alyssa Meyers:

Bush’s treats the merch more as a marketing channel than a revenue stream, according to [consumer experience brand manager Kate Rafferty], one that helps it “spread some joy” and ideally connect with younger consumers.

While merch can drive online chatter, it’s also a way for brands to collect customer data, something that’s become increasingly important as third-party identifiers become harder to come by.

Read the whole story here on Marketing Brew.