CPG

This Brand's Got Unileverage

CPGiant Unilever partnered with Walmart to develop and launch Find Your Happy Place, an exclusive line of candle and body care products, this month. The goal: create affordable retail aromatherapy sessions sold in-stores and online.

Back of the label: Across Unilever’s 20+ existing personal care brands, none directly addresses the idea of self-care and de-stressing. “When there is a space in the portfolio or an unmet consumer need, we will look to expand our product offering—whether it’s through product innovation, incubation of a new brand, or collaborating with a retailer,” Greg Ross, Unilever VP of U.S. Skin Cleansing, told Retail Brew. 

To enter the category...

• Unilever and Walmart polled consumers on their happy places, landing on categories like “catching the sunrise” and “home for the holidays.”
• Those places inspired scent profiles developed with Ann Gottlieb, the name behind fragrances from Dior to Dove.

Smells like holiday spirit 

Unilever was hardly the first entity to turn nostalgia into wax. Just look at home fragrance brands like...

• Homesick, which has poured scents based on states and cities since 2016.  
• Cancelled Plans, which has had a 2020 renaissance with aromas like “Remember Hugs?” and “I Miss High Fives.” 

Spark flame. Without places to go and people to sniff, 2020 shoppers are flocking to custom scents as an accessible luxury. Home fragrance sales grew 13%% YoY in the January–September period, per NPD Group data reported by CNBC. Scented gift sets (with lotion and candles) grew 22%.  

Any brand with body butter and three-wick candles has likely noticed this lift. At home spa regulars like Bath & Body Works, these categories were two-thirds of its record Q3 sales growth. Unilever may be a latecomer, but partnering with the U.S.’s largest retailer puts scale on its side—and will allow it to catch up quickly. 

Looking ahead...Unilever anticipates sensory escape products aren’t a passing fad. “This past year has illuminated the importance of self-care and we anticipate increased focus on self-care [and] mental health will continue,” Ross said. 

EXPERIENCE

A Level Up From Animal Crossing

Building an immersive runway experience used to require Broadway set designers. Yesterday, all one designer needed was code—lots of it.

Balenciaga presented its latest collection in a video game, “Afterworld: The Edge of Tomorrow,” a collaboration with Epic Games’s creation software Unreal Engine. 

• Players are assigned an avatar designed by the brand. 
• Then they have 20 minutes to traverse five zones, aka levels, to see the full collection and a vision of the year 2031. 

League of fashion legends

Early in the pandemic, brands tried tapping into the surging gamer universe with experiences Russian dolled inside existing games. It was a chance to connect with new customers and to substitute for canceled runway presentations.

Now, the trend’s evolving with bespoke video games; Collina Strada also released its take on a video game last month. These could become monetizable platforms for devoted fans: Balenciaga designer Demna Gvasalia hinted a shoppable game could come down the line.

My review: We’re at the very beginning of luxury's video game exploration—a 20-minute stroll through the metaverse is no Fortnite. To see for yourself, play here.

SPONSORED BY ITERABLE

How Do You Connect With Customers?

Drawing a blank? We thought so. That’s why we’ve teamed up with the growth marketers at Iterable to help you build long-term, meaningful relationships with your customers. 

In our article, we hit all the major points—personalization, data, and individualization—that can mean the difference between a one-and-done transaction and a fan for life. 

While a bunch of advice is always great, we’ve made sure to give you actionable tips that you can start implementing pretty much immediately.

And since Iterable was there to help us with said actionable tips, you can be sure they’re some of the best nuggets of retail wisdom around. 

So take a look at our article about creating and retaining retail relationships, executed with Iterable, right here.

STORES

How Many AR Points Is This Overhaul Worth?

Under CEO James Daunt, Barnes & Noble has embarked on a turnaround effort with homespun philosophy: that customers are more likely to connect with localized assortments. The WSJ shared an early excerpt.  

On the shelves...stores are ditching the Joe Fox approach to bookselling (overly large and impersonally organized).

• Local store managers, rather than corporate sellers, are selecting the titles for their individual stores.  
• Books are now arranged by subject instead of alphabetical order and on small tables where shoppers can see the covers. 

Dedicating more space to true staff picks means stores will miss out on publisher discounts for book orders. But Daunt argues it could reduce return rates in the long term. 

• Currently, Barnes & Noble return rates range from 25% to 50%. 

On the payroll...crafting a Shop Around the Corner vibe required corporate cuts. The chain laid off half its corporate staff and 10 of its 25 book buyers—driving more choice back to its local employees. 

Peek at the ending: Daunt expects that Barnes & Noble will be profitable this year, but revenue could fall as much as 20% YoY. Sales at oversized locations in major metropolitan areas have declined 50% during the pandemic, leading to the closure of “albatross” stores. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Moncler will acquire sporting brand Stone Island for $1.4 billion.
• David’s Bridal launches its first loyalty program tomorrow.
• Guitar Center creditors may vote against the retailer's bankruptcy plan.
• Zalando’s co-CEO is stepping down to prioritize his wife’s career.
• 34,700 jobs were cut from the retail industry in November. The majority of layoffs happened in stores.

SPONSORED BY SALSIFY

The secret sauce to becoming a product content boss? Salsify. When you build better content and PDPs with Salsify, you kickstart a flywheel for driving greater ad spend efficiency. That means higher conversion, a better search engine results page (SERP) rank, and stronger sales funnel metrics. Tune in to a webinar on December 9th at 1pm ET and see how you can build better product content with Salsify. 

HOT TOPIC

At the mall, it’s where the sound system makes a Metallica concert sound like a capella. In Retail Brew, it’s where I invite readers to weigh in on a trending retail topic. 

Holiday shipping deadlines are creeping closer, and with them a battle between retailers and shipping providers. 

• Three billion packages are expected to ship this season, the NYT reports. 
• Some retailers say delays due to shipping caps and surcharges from providers like FedEx and UPS are straining their relationships with customers. 

Let’s talk holiday 2021. Are there any changes retailers have picked up on this year to improve shipping operations for next year? Will shipping volumes increase even more in 2021? Stop by the inbox to share your thoughts. 

Following up: You’re all in agreement over the fate of your nearest vacant Sears. Last week, 84.9% of respondents to our flash poll said mall spaces will increasingly be converted into fulfillment centers. 

SWAPPING SKUS

If it wasn’t obvious that I selected these round-ups right before lunch...it will be when you’re done reading. 

• Slutty Vegan has a name customers won’t easily forget. But there’s so much more to the Atlanta restaurant chain’s rise and expansion. (Fast Company)
• The McRib returned to McDonald’s last week. So did a slew of conspiracy theories surrounding when and why it reemerges. (Morning Brew)
• Today in brand pivots, I’m inspired by this Baltimore care package brand’s flexible approach to 2020’s challenges. (Inc.)

ICYMI

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

• Quip Expands Oral Care Suite with Chewing Gum
• Barneys New York Will Return in 2021—Kind of
• JCPenney’s Chief Transformation Officer Explains Livestream Strategy