While the current economy might seem like a sweet spot for dollar stores and discount chains, not all of them have performed well. Family Dollar plans to close 600 locations this year, and the West Coast-based 99 Cents Only Stores declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week.

As analysts have pointed out, these companies made a number of strategic missteps, and now those discounters that are still standing—such as Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Big Lots—are tweaking their assortments with the goal of avoiding a similar fate.

Laurence Brenig-Jones, VP of product strategy and marketing at Relex, a supply chain management platform that works with Dollar Tree and 99 Cents Only Stores, told Retail Brew that the sector is “very focused on having a highly curated range” of products.

This curation or selection process is generally called “range planning,” and it appears to be a crucial factor in how discounters plan to drive demand and control inventory going forward.

How exactly discounters are range planning seems to differ significantly between the major players.

Keep reading here.—AV

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As it looks to expand its “instant commerce” platform, delivery company Gopuff today debuted Powered by Gopuff, a direct-to-consumer delivery service that enables brands on its platform to offer 15-minute delivery from their own online stores.

The new offering expands brands’ online presence beyond Gopuff’s retail media network, which allows consumers to click on ads on GoPuff and be directed to a Gopuff landing page highlighting the brands’ products. Now, its partners can direct shoppers to their own white-label online stores, where the customers can place an order for rapid delivery that Gopuff will fulfill.

Storefronts Powered by Gopuff, the first solution under the new service, offers a customizable Shopify theme that allows brands to debut their own DTC sites in just a few days, the company said, and gives brands access to first-party data.

Keep reading here.—EC

What’s a great way to sell more shoes? Well, for Nike, it’s the upcoming Olympic Games in July.

Last week, the athletic footwear and apparel retailer revealed its Olympic kits for teams it’s sponsoring in Paris this summer. That includes American athletes across all sports, along with all Canadian, Chinese, German, Kenyan, and Ugandan teams, and the basketball teams of France, Japan, and Spain. Whew! Nike also designed a kit for Korea for a new breakdancing event, Reuters reported.

In December 2023, Nike cautioned that decreased consumer spending would impact its profit outlook. It would seem the retailer is banking on regaining some of the market share its lost to competitors like Hoka and Lululemon through the attention it generates during the Olympics.

Keep reading here.—JC

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