Target Has $2B and a Plan. God Help Them.

A $2B Hail Mary. ‍

Target’s new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, went into the retailer’s Q4 and 2025 earnings results call with a positive outlook. Despite a 1.7% sales decline for the fiscal year and a lukewarm holiday season, Fiddelke reaffirmed that the results signaled stabilization, which means growth is imminent. Part of the retailer’s broader turnaround effort is a $2B investment in store overhauls, in-store employee training, and new technology (including AI). 

Our Take: Fiddelke called out “merchandising authority” as a key driver of future growth. While we have seen glimmers of the retailer winning the cultural moment (the Valentine’s Day DUMP HIM sweater, anyone?), they have gotten lost in a barrage of irrelevant brand partnerships and unappealing styles. Target’s brand equity was further challenged, especially among Gen Z, when ULTA ended its shop-in-shop partnership. Target appears to have answers to these concerns, including a new prestige Beauty Studio concept in stores and online.

Target has long been a leader in omnichannel fulfillment, but its in-store execution has fallen by the wayside in favor of digital fulfillment. Employees have devoted more time and energy to managing online picking and packing than to stocking shelves and perfecting merchandise displays. Needless to say, it’s going to be an uphill battle for the retailer. Our own Alicia Esposito expanded upon the situation in a recent Inside Retail article.

Library Card Not Required.

‍UNIQLO has partnered with the New York Public Library to provide cultural and youth-focused programming inspired by the city. The events are part of UNIQLO’s broader strategy for promoting three new NYC stores set to open this spring in Bryant Park, Williamsburg, and Union Square. Each location will have distinct collections, tailored to the unique culture of each neighborhood. 

The Union Square location, for instance, will have exclusive designs and an in-store tribute honoring the store’s address (860 Broadway), the former site of Andy Warhol’s Factory studio. We can’t help but think Warhol would love the idea of being memorialized in a retail store, a mecca for the consumerism around which he built his artistic empire.

‍You Thought Labubus Were Gone, Didn’t You?

‍Well, they’re bound to go viral again with their new partnership with Sanrio. The monsters are dressing themselves in garb inspired by Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, and other beloved characters, for a series of bag charms ($40 per blind box) and vinyl plush dolls ($150). The collection launches online in the US on March 12 and will be rolling out in stores nationwide in April. 

I See Stars.

‍Starface, the Gen-Z-favorite skincare brand, has closed a $105M funding round led by Align Ventures and Astō Consumer Partners. Known for its star-shaped acne patches, Starface is currently in 20,000 retail stores, from big-box retailers to pharmacies. Consumers have gravitated toward the brand at a time when clear, dewy skin is the ultimate status symbol. Rather than making acne something to hide or be ashamed of, Starface turned it into the ultimate fashion statement and a vehicle for creative expression.

David, the Ice Cream Man.

‍During Natural Products Expo West, David appeared to stealth-launch a new protein ice cream. Attendees spotted white trucks around the Anaheim Convention Center featuring a muscular cow and a mock-up of the carton. No other details have been shared regarding when or whether the product will officially launch.

Bath & Body Works is Rage-Baiting Us. ‍

The company is known for culturally relevant collabs; its latest with Disney has flown off the shelves. But has the retailer’s new partnership with Peeps gone too far? We only ask because there are two camps: those who love Peeps and those who want to incinerate them off the face of the planet. (Most people are in the latter camp.) Let’s be real, the cutesy packaging and the vast collection of backpacks, totes, socks, and body care are too delectable to pass up. This is a merch drop made in pastel-colored heaven.

Ecommerce Redemption.

‍After nearly six months of hype and an onslaught of retail industry thought leadership about the future of agentic commerce, OpenAI is scaling back its shopping plans for ChatGPT, according to a new report from The Information. The issues are three-fold: more people are using the platform to browse but not buy; consumers overall are still not fully sold on letting an agent manage the purchasing process; and the back-end requirements for embedded product selection and checkout, including inventory synchronization, are hard. 

OpenAI is now focusing on making it a discovery platform, with purchases being completed through third-party partner apps. Should we say “we told you so” now or later? After all, 77% of consumers told us that they’d rather purchase items directly from a branded eCommerce site after discovering them via AI. 

The strategic pivot comes after OpenAI saw uninstalls surge by 295%, an aftershock from its new deal with the Pentagon. Users have migrated over to Claude as a form of political protest. 

That Warner Bros Money Went to Good Use. ‍

One week after dropping its bid for Warner Bros, Netflix announced its acquisition of InterPositive, an AI filmmaking company founded by Ben Affleck. He started the company at a time when AI video models weren’t equipped to produce Hollywood-grade footage from scratch. After filming a proprietary dataset on a controlled soundstage for training, InterPositive then developed its own video model optimized for real-world production environments. InterPositive’s entire team will join Netflix, with Affleck becoming an advisor to the company. 

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