Retail never sleeps, so we’ve rounded up the news you might’ve missed between resets, comms rollouts, and that one surprise district manager visit. (Found this blog some other way? Subscribe to have Sidekick hit your inbox each month.)
Ulta, Target Call Off Shop-in-Shop Partnership; Ulta Marketplace Arriving Later this Year [Retail Touchpoints]
The gist
Ulta and Target are calling it a wrap on their beauty shop-in-shop romance. Ulta Beauty at Target will bid farewell when the current agreement ends in August 2026, closing the mini beauty havens nestled inside about 600 Target stores.
Meanwhile, Ulta’s not out of options. It’s gearing up to launch a curated online ‘Ulta Beauty Marketplace’ later this year and plans to open around 200 new standalone stores as part of its bold Unleashed growth strategy.
Target, for its part, promises to keep the glow going, maintaining a fresh and exciting beauty assortment in stores and online until then. (But, ahem, their CEO also just hit the curb.)
The biggest culprit in shrink is in the store — but it’s probably not a criminal [Retail Dive]
The gist
Turns out the biggest “bad guy” lurking in retail shrinkage isn’t a mustache-twirling villain: it’s more often the store itself, thanks to things like understaffing, pricing blips, and mismanaged inventory. Even though we tend to spotlight those flashy overnight smash‑and‑grabs, experts say about two‑thirds of shrink stems from internal inefficiencies that quietly nibble away at profits
On average, these operational hiccups eat up 5.5% of gross sales—way up from 4.5% last year—with potential savings hitting a whopping $162.7 billion across multiple retail sectors if fixed. Now the goal is for loss‑prevention teams to evolve from crime catchers into profit protectors, working hand‑in‑hand with store operations to guard margins, not just chase thieves.
H&M Bets on AI to Upgrade Stores, Face Off Online Rivals [Wall Street Journal]
The gist
H&M is leaning hard on AI to glam up its locations and keep pace with nimble online competitors. Meanwhile, fast-fashion foes like Shein and Temu have been gobbling up market share, leaving H&M watching from the runway’s side for a shift from 1.2% to 1.1%. Ouch, right?
As a result, H&M are embracing AI to help turn their 4,200 brick and mortar stores into a strength instead of a liability: from trendy stock predictions and supply-chain wizardry to pricing and marketing mojo, it’s all about getting the right clothes to the right hands at the right time. According to H&M’s digital boss, physical stores still matter when you’ve got AI doing the heavy lifting.
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More than a Store: My dinner at Wegmans [Grocery Dive]
The gist
Wegmans has quietly turned grocery shopping into a full‑blown fancy date night by tucking its new Japanese restaurant Next Door behind golden gates inside its Astor Place store. The vibe? Think velvety booths, marble sushi bar, and selfie‑ready bathrooms, and yes, it’s as glam as a hotel lobby with a shopping cart.
You’ll pay for the atmosphere ($52 for six nigiri, in fact) but hey, you’re in grocery store fine dining territory now. Despite the glitter and glow, one critic felt it doesn’t quite cut through the East Village’s sushi scene, but faithful Wegmaniacs might not notice (or care).
How London’s rubber duck stores stay above water [CNBC]
The gist
London’s rubber duck shops are floating happily despite inflation, rent hikes, and even U.S. tariffs. What’s their secret? They’re riding the tourist wave, catering to gifters, nostalgic families, and cruise‐ship passengers who apparently “lose” ducks in hidden stashing rituals: there are estimated to be around 1,000 rubber ducks aboard every major cruise ship in the world.
The founders, former VC‑turned duck aficionado Filip Perkon and partner Irina Fedotova, turned these stores into theatrical, Instagram‑ready stage sets—complete with actors as assistants and live customization—to keep shoppers charmed. Still, retail analysts warn that unless the ducks fly off the shelves in truly massive numbers, profit margins may soon dip below water.
