There has been a lot of speculation about Bonobos’s ambitions as it settles in under a new ownership. The DTC menswear brand that was previously part of Walmart was sold to WHP Global and Express Inc., the latter of which eventually ended up in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

With a new owner, Phoenix Retail, as of 2024, Bonobos has a renewed focus on understanding the consumer and brand positioning as it pushes to stay relevant amid growing competition and complex economical and political challenges.

With a brand new spring campaign featuring restaurant owner and entrepreneur Emilio Vitolo, alongside former professional soccer player Demit Omphroy, the retailer is trying to put its new vision into perspective for consumers.

“We wanted to open up our new fiscal year with a campaign that’s all about lightness and playfulness and ease, and it really ties together with our spring collection, just from a product standpoint. The design inspiration is around escapism and so we wanted to thread this along,” Bonobos CMO Krissie Millan told Retail Brew. “[But]...to bring this to life, we really needed to bring in talent that can help exhibit that.”

While the retailer continues to retain its core customer base, in a quest for relevance, the brand is also targeting a new generation of consumers.

Keep reading here.—JS

Amidst calls for a boycott and being overrun on its social-media channels with criticism for backtracking on its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, Target saw foot traffic decline for the fourth consecutive week, according to new data from Placer.ai.

For the week that began February 17, foot traffic at Target’s stores fell 7.9% YoY, more than double the 3.9% it fell the previous week.

Traffic was also down at Walmart, which also has faced criticism for rolling back its DEI program, falling 5.2% YoY for the week beginning February 17, also marking the fourth consecutive week its traffic fell, and more than triple the 1.4% it fell the previous week.

At Costco, meanwhile, which resisted calls from shareholders and 19 Republican attorneys general to cancel its DEI programs, traffic has been up for all four weeks in the same period. Foot traffic rose 4.8% YoY for the week beginning February 17, slightly higher than the 4.6% it rose the week before.

Correlation—let’s say it all together—is not causation, and Placer.ai had no comment about whether the DEI rollbacks had an impact on the data.

Keep reading here.—AAN

From CEOs to CMOs to CFOs to COOs, to roles that, well, aren’t so easily abbreviated, retail executives were shuffling around in February. Here are the top moves to know:

• In a surprise move, Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher exited the CPG giant less than two years after assuming the role. Schumacher had been in the midst of executing a turnaround plan for Unilever, but was ousted to speed up the efforts. CFO Fernando Fernandez will now take the helm.
• The Michaels Companies tapped David Boone, former CEO of Staples Canada, as its new CEO. He takes over the spot left vacant by Ashley Buchanan, who departed last month to lead Kohl’s.
• Ulta Beauty promoted Kelly Mahoney, its SVP of customer and growth marketing, to fill the CMO role Michelle Crossan-Matos vacated last month.
• Bonobos and Express owner Phoenix named Greg Scott as its next chief exec. Scott’s retail résumé includes roles as CEO of New York & Company and chief merchandising officer at Fashion Nova.

Keep reading here.—EC