Reimagining Retail: The Unofficial Most Interesting Retailers List (January) | Jan 29, 2025

Summary

Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail – The Unofficial Most Interesting Retailers List (January 2025)

Release Date: January 29, 2025

In this episode of EMARKETER’s Behind the Numbers podcast, host Sara Lebo delves into the dynamic landscape of retail by unveiling the January list of the "Unofficial Most Interesting Retailers." Joined by analysts Ariel Fager, Rachel Wolf, and Zach Stambor, the discussion offers deep insights into the strategies and innovations that set these retailers apart in a fiercely competitive market.

Introduction

Sara Lebo kicks off the episode by introducing the concept of the most interesting retailers list for January. She highlights the collaborative effort between herself and Ariel Fager to curate the initial list, with Rachel Wolf and Zach Stambor providing critical feedback and adjustments in the latter half of the episode.

Initial Retailer Rankings

1. Best Buy (#8)

   • Ariel Fager: Best Buy’s launch of a third-party marketplace in partnership with Miracle is a significant move aimed at enhancing both commerce and advertising capabilities. (01:32)
   • Zach Stambor: Praises Best Buy for its targeted approach, focusing on expanding relevant product selections without overextending, such as limiting their cell phone cases to marketplace sellers. (01:56)
   • Sara Lebo: Commends Ariel for predicting the surge in third-party marketplaces. (02:25)

2. Poshmark (#7)

   • Ariel Fager: Poshmark’s collaboration with Loop facilitates returns for items beyond the standard return window, offering a seamless peer-to-peer return process. (02:34)
   • Rachel Wolf: Emphasizes the mutual benefits for customers and retailers, allowing more restrictive return policies while providing customers with an alternative return method. (03:15)

3. TJ Maxx (#6)

   • Ariel Fager: Highlights TJ Maxx’s ability to capture market share from competitors like Ross and Marshalls, particularly appealing to younger consumers through platforms like TikTok. (04:06)
   • Rachel Wolf: Notes TJ Maxx’s reputation for designer goods attracts a younger audience. (04:25)
   • Zach Stambor & Sara Lebo: Discuss the shopping experience and personal preferences regarding the retailer. (04:34 - 05:08)

4. Target (#5)

   • Sara Lebo: Describes Target’s January initiatives, including the introduction of 2,000 new wellness items and partnerships with sponsors like Tom Holland’s non-alcoholic beer brand, aligning with New Year’s resolutions. (05:33)
   • Ariel Fager & Zach Stambor: Commend Target’s strategic niche marketing and exclusive product offerings to differentiate from competitors. (05:36 - 06:19)

5. Costco (#4)

   • Ariel Fager: Discusses Costco’s strong commitment to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives, even as other retailers retreat, and the potential implications of a looming strike. (06:44 - 07:32)
   • Rachel Wolf: Appreciates Costco’s portrayal of DEI as part of its corporate culture. (07:57)
   • Zach Stambor: Balances the positive DEI initiatives against the negative perception from the strike. (07:32 - 07:47)

6. Sephora (#3)

   • Sara Lebo: Excited about Sephora’s launch of a Hulu show featuring influencers like Chapel Roan and Becky G, blending streaming media with beauty content to engage a modern audience. (07:32 - 08:54)
   • Zach Stambor: Likes the subtlety of Sephora’s content marketing, contrasting it with more overt advertising efforts from competitors. (08:58 - 10:04)
   • Ariel Fager: Highlights the blend of music and lifestyle elements in Sephora’s strategy. (10:20 - 10:37)

7. Temu (#2)

   • Ariel Fager: Temu’s pilot of paid search ads and the launch of an app marketplace represents a strategic pivot to enhance its competitive edge against giants like Amazon, while stressing the importance of balancing customer experience and pricing. (10:37 - 11:27)
   • Rachel Wolf: Raises concerns about how Temu’s new advertising strategy might impact merchant participation. (11:27 - 11:40)
   • Sara Lebo: Discusses Amazon’s strategic moves in ad tech as the top retailer, emphasizing its dominance in the commerce media landscape. (11:40 - 12:XX)

8. Amazon (#1)

   • Sara Lebo: Highlights Amazon’s expansion of its ad tech to other retail media networks, facilitating easier launches and advertising for Amazon advertisers. This move solidifies Amazon’s leading position in the commerce media sector. (Ending Remarks)

Adjusting the Rankings: Feedback and Revisions

In the second half of the episode, Rachel Wolf and Zach Stambor reevaluate the initial rankings:

• Zach Stambor moves TJ Maxx down from #6 to #8, arguing that while TJ Maxx is performing well, it lacks the current month’s distinctiveness compared to other retailers. (13:49 - 15:04)

• Rachel Wolf advances Poshmark above Target and Costco, citing the innovative approach to handling returns and its potential as a model for other retailers. (15:26 - 16:06)

  • Rachel Wolf: “This could be the push that gets them to sign up with Loop to manage their returns, for example.” (15:26)

• Rachel Wolf adds Charlotte Tilbury as a wildcard entrant, positioning them at #7 for their bold campaign against dupe culture by featuring Kate Moss, thereby emphasizing the value of original products over cheaper imitations. (16:50 - 18:28)

• Zach Stambor introduces JCPenney as another wildcard, discussing its merger with Spark Group to form Catalyst Brands. This strategic consolidation aims to leverage data across multiple brands to create personalized shopping experiences and loyalty programs. (18:30 - 21:07)

  • Zach Stambor: “They have a pretty interesting vision where they're going to pull together the data from all these different retailers...” (18:53)

Despite some reservations from Ariel Fager regarding the early stages of JCPenney’s merger, the consensus among the panel reshuffles the final rankings.

Final Retailer Rankings

1. Amazon (#1)

2. Temu (#2)

3. Sephora (#3)

4. Poshmark (#4)

5. Costco (#5)

6. Target (#6)

7. Charlotte Tilbury (#7)

8. JCPenney (#8)

Honorable Mentions:

• L'Oréal (#9): For launching new skincare technology tailored to individual skin types.

• Albertsons (#10): For introducing a new API that aids brands and advertisers in measurement.

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Sara Lebo summarizing the final list and expressing appreciation for the contributions of her co-hosts. She emphasizes the evolving nature of the retail industry and the importance of innovative strategies in staying competitive.

Notable Quotes:

• Sara Lebo: “This is the list we have... Best Buy, Poshmark, TJ Maxx, Target, Costco, Sephora, Temu, and number one, Amazon.” (11:40)

• Zach Stambor: “I think they’re going about this in a pretty smart way... It’s a good move.” (01:56)

• Rachel Wolf: “I think what they're doing with returns is super interesting.” (16:02)

This comprehensive analysis not only highlights the current movers and shakers in the retail sector but also provides a nuanced understanding of the strategies that make these retailers stand out in a crowded marketplace. Whether it’s through innovative partnerships, strategic mergers, or targeted marketing campaigns, each featured retailer demonstrates unique approaches to capturing consumer interest and driving growth.

Tune in next Wednesday for another insightful episode of Reimagining Retail, and don’t miss Friday’s video episode of Behind the Numbers hosted by Marcus.

Transcript

[Sara Lebo]

Hello, listeners. Today is Wednesday, January 29th. Welcome to behind the Reimagining Retail an emarketer podcast. This is the show where we talk about how retail collides with every part of our lives. I'm your host, Sara Lebo. Today's episode topic is our January unofficial most interesting retailers of the month list. Should we make that shorter? No, I think it works every time. Let's meet today's guests. Joining me for today's episode, we have in the studio with me, Ariel Fager. Hey, Ariel.

[Ariel Fager]

Hi. New year still happy to be here.

[Sara Lebo]

New year, same. You? Yep. Also with us in the studio is Rachel Wolf. Hey, Rachel.

[Rachel Wolf]

Hey there. Thanks for having me.

[Sara Lebo]

Thanks for being here. And joining us from, well, I was going to say overseas, but it's over Lake Michigan, technically. Joining us from Chicago is Zach Stambor. Hey, Zach.

[Zach Stambor]

Hey, guys.

[Sara Lebo]

This is my, I guess my new thing where I just tell everyone where we all are.

[Ariel Fager]

I like it.

[Sara Lebo]

Let's jump into our unofficial most interesting retailers of the month list. Arielle and I, we're the committee, will present our list in the first half of this episode. In the second half, Zach and Rachel will have the opportunity to edit our list. So here, here is our list. At number eight, we have Best Buy. Ariel, tell us more.

[Ariel Fager]

So Best Buy is launching a third party marketplace. Now, this is the second time that it's going to be trying this. Hopefully this will be more successful than the first. It's partnering with Miracle to launch the marketplace sometime this summer. And it's just a pretty interesting opportunity for both, you know, on the commerce side and on the ad side. So we think it's a pretty interesting opportunity.

[Zach Stambor]

I think they're going about this in a pretty smart way. They're not trying to be everything for everyone. They're being really targeted with it. And they're just trying to focus on expanding the selection of stuff that makes sense in line with Best Buy. So the example that they used is cell phone cases. Instead of stocking every cell phone case on the planet, they'll just rely on marketplace sellers to do so. And so I think it's going to be successful. I think this is a good move.

[Sara Lebo]

I got to give Arielle props for accurately predicting that more businesses would be launching third party marketplaces this year.

[Ariel Fager]

That is. That is one of my own predictions.

[Sara Lebo]

Okay, number seven, Poshmark. Arielle, why is Poshmark on the list?

[Ariel Fager]

So Poshmark is partnering with Loop to enable customers to return items that were either final sale or the return window had closed. It Seems pretty easy. All they have to do is click a button and the listing will be filled in from details that Loop has. And I just think it's a really interesting kind of in between step between the full returns process that a retailer deals with and peer to peer returns. And we know, you know, returns can be very costly, very hard to deal with for retailers. So I kind of like that this is a step in the middle and helping to kind of ease some of that burden on retailers.

[Rachel Wolf]

Yeah, I think it's kind of a win win. Right. Like if you're a customer and you have this unwanted merchandise, it's a great way to get it off your hands and, you know, potentially recoup some of that investment. And I think it's also great for the retailer because it means you can have a more restrictive returns policy, but offer something like this as a consolation prize in a way.

[Sara Lebo]

Is the item going back to the retailer or is it being listed peer to peer on Poshmark?

[Rachel Wolf]

I think it's being listed peer to peer.

[Sara Lebo]

Gotcha.

[Ariel Fager]

I don't know for sure.

[Sara Lebo]

Yeah. So it's not even really a return when you think about it, but you still get money, so it still feels like one. Okay. Number six, TJ Maxx. This is because of some research that came out from Earnest analytics this month stating that new TJ Maxx stores were successful share from rivals Ross and Marshalls in the same zip codes. We've been keeping an eye on discount stores as people search for low prices. So this felt like an interesting trend to me.

[Ariel Fager]

Well, I think it's kind of interesting considering, like the brand appeal of TJ Maxx. I feel like, you know, on TikTok, you'll see TJ Maxx hauls or things like that. I think maybe it just has like a younger brand appeal for, you know, younger consumers. So I just think that maybe it's succeeding in that.

[Rachel Wolf]

Yeah. I think it also has to do with the kind of merchandise they sell. Right. TJ Maxx has a reputation for having more, you know, designer goods and because of that, it pulls in a younger audience.

[Sara Lebo]

Do you guys have any loyalty to any of these retailers?

[Rachel Wolf]

None whatsoever.

[Ariel Fager]

I think. I. I like TJ Maxx.

[Sara Lebo]

I grew up shopping at Marshalls, so I'm a Marshall's head Still, Zach?

[Zach Stambor]

Not at all, no. I. I just went to a TJ Maxx for the first time in, like, quite some time, and it was fine. It's just, it's not in my regular rotation.

[Sara Lebo]

I'm surprised you said it was fine. I Feel like anytime you go to any kind of retailer that has at all chaotic, you're you.

[Zach Stambor]

Yeah, no, it's true.

[Sara Lebo]

I hated it.

[Zach Stambor]

I. I knew going in I to expect it and so I was.

[Ariel Fager]

It's a very specific experience.

[Sara Lebo]

Yeah. The thrill of the find. Yep. Okay. Number five, Target. Target is engaging in what I'm calling January behavior. They introduced 2,000 new wellness items and they are making a deal with sponsors. Spider Man Star, Tom Holland's new alcoholic beer brand. Was that the right thing to pick for Tom Holland? I was gonna go with Zendaya Fiance, but I went with Spider Man Star.

[Ariel Fager]

I think that's. Let's let him have the spotlight.

[Sara Lebo]

Or former Billy Elliot.

[Ariel Fager]

Oh, yeah.

[Sara Lebo]

For our Broadway head.

[Rachel Wolf]

That's niche.

[Sara Lebo]

It's a little Target is capitalizing on New Year's resolutions, or they capitalized on New Year's resolutions, both with wellness and with dry January. And we haven't talked much about this, but you are always seeing headlines about how Gen Z is drinking less. So it also makes sense for them to be partnering with a non alcoholic beer brand.

[Ariel Fager]

Yeah, I think that Target kind of has to find little. I mean, this isn't little, but kind of more niche ways to connect with its audience, you know, considering how it's really, you know, stacked against Walmart and Amazon. So I think anytime it's really trying to carve out a space for itself, I applaud it.

[Zach Stambor]

Yeah, I agree. And I think the interesting thing here is that it's 2,000 new products, but 600 of them are exclusive to Target. And so if you go in, you like it and you buy it, and it's exclusive to Target, you're going to come right back to Target. And so I think it's a really smart play.

[Sara Lebo]

Yeah. Okay. Speaking of retailers that Zach finds chaotic, number four, Costco. Ariel, why Costco?

[Ariel Fager]

So I think it's really interesting. Costco has been really fully behind DEI initiatives in during a period where a lot of retailers are pulling back their DEI programs. You know, the Costco board has really endorsed dei, saying that it enhances the retailer's capability to attract and retain employees who then help their business to succeed. So I think just for the simple, you know, fact that they're standing behind it, I think is interesting and I think it's worth mentioning. Then again, they are all also going to be seeing a strike, possibly. So those are two. They're not related necessarily. But it is interesting to see Costco in the news for two very different reasons.

[Zach Stambor]

The one thing the DEI is Appealing to probably a sizable share of Costco customers. But then right away that strike, I think is a black mark. And so how does that balance out? I'm not quite sure.

[Rachel Wolf]

In their defense of dei, they really made sure to paint it not just as a business decision, but to say, you know, this is the kind of corporate culture that we want to build, I think is also notable.

[Sara Lebo]

Yeah. Especially during a month where so many other companies found ways to align with the current administration. Number three, Sephora. This one's really exciting to me. Last week Sephora launched a Hulu show featuring stars like Chapel Roan and Becky G. She's the one who sings Shower in Get Ready With Me style videos. I think this is fascinating. It has everything Streaming Services, Beauty, TikTok style content adapted for long form and up and coming pop girlies. Not to mention Chapel Roan, who, not to brag, but I saw over a year ago before she blew up, but someone who I haven't seen doing a lot of sponsored content too, and is definitely an it girl and known for her makeup. I'm really interested in seeing how a retailer streaming celebrity collab performs and how short form content adjusted for long form performs.

[Ariel Fager]

Yeah, I think this is just really fun and I love it.

[Zach Stambor]

I love it as well. And I love that it is seemingly taking a relatively light touch with the content marketing push. Like it's totally, you know, a big commercial for Sephora, but it doesn't have that same sort of heavy handedness of like the Amazon Buy it now show, which I actually do really like. It's kind of fun to watch. Or the, the Walmart Jingle Bell love movie or the Add to Heart rom com. Those were like extremely unsettle. And this.

[Sara Lebo]

What are we talking about?

[Ariel Fager]

So upset. That was like Walmart shoppable media push.

[Zach Stambor]

Yeah.

[Rachel Wolf]

And doesn't Chick Fil A have its own content?

[Sara Lebo]

They have a streaming platform.

[Zach Stambor]

Yeah.

[Ariel Fager]

Yeah. I think Zach's right. The light touches, I think is really important to make it so people will have fun with it. They're not going to feel like they're just being bombarded with an ad or anything like that.

[Sara Lebo]

That's what works. In Get Ready With Me videos, I would watch a sponsored Get Ready With Me video because sure, one product is from a certain brand or all the products are from a particular retailer. I still want to see those products. I still want to see how a particular makeup artist applies them.

[Ariel Fager]

And the music, I think that's such a big part of it too. Like as someone who, you know, spent a lot of their twenties listening to music and getting ready to, you know, go out on the town.

[Sara Lebo]

Okay, brag. Arielle was cool in her 20s.

[Ariel Fager]

Yeah, no, I just think it's a really fun way to bring it all together.

[Sara Lebo]

Number two, Temu. Arielle, why temu?

[Ariel Fager]

It's a little bit of a pivot here. So TEMU is to be piloting paid search ads for its marketplace. It's also going to start an app, an app marketplace with inventory, logistics, management and other tools. I think it's a big deal considering how the competition that TEMU has already given Amazon adding an ad component, I think just kind of really adds fuel to that fire. But that being said, it is going to have to really delicately balance both the customer experience and pricing. You know, if prices get too high, customers won't come to the platform. So I'm really interested to see what happens. But there is definitely a bit of a tightrope block there.

[Rachel Wolf]

Yeah, it's interesting because a lot of temu's appeal for merchants is that you don't currently have to pay for advertising the same way that you do on Amazon. So I wonder, by implementing this, does this affect how many merchants are willing to make the shift?

[Sara Lebo]

Yeah, I think it might affect merchants. I don't think it'll affect customers. You don't go on TEMU to have a good customer experience. That might be a hot take, but it's so cluttered there already. Ads are expected, clutter. I think a lot of customers will be surprised that there weren't ads before and maybe won't notice their influx. Flipping the switch on that, number one, Amazon, for making its ad tech available to all other retail media networks and for penalizing brands that are listing on temu. We just talked about Temu, so I won't go too much into that. But the ad tech thing is fascinating. Retail media and commerce media right now is propped up by a giant network of ad tech companies that we know and love. Amazon is the biggest player in commerce media. They own like 75% of the market. And making their ad tech available for other networks both makes it easier to launch a media network and means that Amazon advertisers can potentially advertise with those networks easier. So that's a huge move for Amazon. And Amazon has been on our list, like, almost every time since we've started making this list, which is mainly because they have the capital to do something every month. But this one, I think, stands out. So to recap, our list is number 8, Best Buy, number 7, Poshmark number 6, TJ Maxx. Number 5, Target. Number 4, Costco. Number 3, Sephora, number 2, Temu, and number 1, Amazon. We also always throw in two honorable mentions. We've got number 9, L'Oreal, for launching a new technology that helps you pick out skincare products associated with your skin type. And number 10, Albertsons, for launching a new API that helps brands, advertisers with measurement. Okay, now it's time for our second half, where Rachel and Zach get to tell us where we went wrong. Each of them will have a chance to move a brand up or down on our rankings list and to add a new company entirely. So, Zach, make a move.

[Zach Stambor]

Yeah, I'm going to move TJ Maxx. I think I'm going to move it all the way off. It's not particularly interesting this month. You know, it's doing well. It's performed very well, actually, over the past year. Its stock, I think, is up almost 28%. But in terms of looking at this particular moment in time, I don't see anything that necessitates its placing on the list.

[Sara Lebo]

Ariel, why did we have TJ Maxx at 6 above poshmark and Best Buy?

[Ariel Fager]

I don't know. I feel like you felt really passionate about TJ Maxx. That's why.

[Sara Lebo]

Well, being thrown under the bus.

[Zach Stambor]

Yeah. So it's a pretty easy case to make that. Yeah. Poshmark, super interesting, clever solution to a legitimate problem. Best Buy, sure. It's like taking a fairly elegant solution to the marketplace issue to broaden its inventory mix. TJ Maxx is just doing TJ Maxx.

[Ariel Fager]

I mean, I think, you know, the reason we included TJ Maxx on this list is just because I think so many, you know, we've really seen over the past year a lot of retailers struggle. TJ Maxx has been, you know, as Zach pointed out, consistently doing well and.

[Sara Lebo]

Bringing people into their stores.

[Ariel Fager]

Yeah. And the fact that it's kind of gaining, maybe not. We don't know if it's sales share, but, you know, physical location share from other companies that are doing the same thing. You know, I think it's interesting. That being said, we can move them to number eight. I don't. I'm not mad about moving them down.

[Sara Lebo]

All right. T.J. maxx is number eight. Congrats, Zach.

[Zach Stambor]

Okay, there we go.

[Sara Lebo]

Rachel, make your move.

[Rachel Wolf]

Oh, I was gonna do TJ Maxx, so now I gotta.

[Sara Lebo]

No, that's fine.

[Rachel Wolf]

I actually. I think I would move Poshmark up a bit just because I think I would Move it above Target, because I think what they're doing with returns is super interesting. I think it could be an example that more retailers take. This could be the push that gets them to sign up with Loop to manage their returns, for example. But I just think, especially given the timing, it's January. Retailers are drowning under the weight of holiday returns. A partnership like this could be something that more of them consider.

[Zach Stambor]

Yeah, I would put it above Costco as well. I think it's a really interesting move.

[Ariel Fager]

Wow. That's okay.

[Sara Lebo]

Okay, so you want to move Poshmark above Target and Costco. I can definitely see it above Target because what Target is doing is ultimately launching more products. And Target is a store that sells products. Costco's DEI moves felt really bold to me when they came out, and I do feel like they've lost some of their sheen, especially with this potential strike. So I would be open to moving Poshmark to that spot.

[Ariel Fager]

I'll say. Yeah. With the caveat that I do still really appreciate Costco's stand.

[Sara Lebo]

Okay, so with those two moves made, let's see what wildcards you want to introduce. Rachel, what's your wild card, and where will you put it?

[Rachel Wolf]

So my wild card is Charlotte Tilbury, and I'm gonna put them, I think, in the seventh spot. And the reason I think they're interesting is because they're taking this really interesting approach to combating dupe culture, which is a growing problem that a lot of beauty brands are facing, given that shoppers just want cheaper versions of name brand products. But they're launching this campaign called Legendary for a reason. They're bringing in Kate Moss. So it's a pretty bold faced campaign. And the idea is to highlight why you should buy their, I don't know, $80 foundation as opposed to the $7 elf version. I don't know if those are the actual prices. I'm just making a guess here. But I think this is something that we're going to see more beauty brands do as they try to carve out their space and their moat, basically, and keep these dupes from taking their sales.

[Ariel Fager]

Where did you want to put them again?

[Rachel Wolf]

I would put them number seven. So where Poshmark was basically just taking yourself.

[Sara Lebo]

Yeah. So they would kick TJ Maxx off and they would be above Best Buy. What makes this different than any other campaign?

[Rachel Wolf]

I think it's that they're calling out dupes specifically at a time when, you know, brands like Elf are leaning into sort of dupe label. So I think it's Worth noting that this is gonna be a huge focus for these brands going forward.

[Ariel Fager]

Yeah, I think it is interesting that they're really pointedly making a case for don't buy dupes, buy our product, because we're original. We're this.

[Sara Lebo]

I'm open to putting Charlotte Tilbury on and kicking off TJ Maxx, but I don't think it goes above Best Buy. I would put it in number eight.

[Ariel Fager]

I agree.

[Rachel Wolf]

I accept that ruling.

[Sara Lebo]

Zach, what's your wild card?

[Zach Stambor]

I cannot believe that a retailer that I think was one of undoubtedly. Oh, my God, what did we miss? Of the month is not on the list, and that's JCPenney. JCPenney had such an interesting month.

[Ariel Fager]

Tell us more, Zach. Yes, I've been on a JCPenney beat, but.

[Zach Stambor]

So JCPenney merged with Spark Group, which is the owner of brands like Lucky and Aeropostale and Eddie Bauer and Brooks Brothers, to form a company called Catalyst Brands. And it's a really big company. It generated $9 billion in revenues last year. It has, like, 1800 stores. And they have a pretty interesting vision where they're going to pull together the data from all these different retailers, which all together have, like, 60 million customers, to hope to create an entity that's bigger than the sum of its parts. And they want to use that data to develop personalized shopping experiences, develop loyal programs, pitch people on credit card programs, and cross sell. Now, undoubtedly, the devil is in the details in how this plays out. You know, I don't know that the Brooks Brothers customer has anything in common with the JCPenney customer. That said, this is a really interesting play, and it's bold, and I think it should be probably about, like, number four or five on the list.

[Ariel Fager]

Well, I mean, I agree with you that it's a big merger. I think it all sounds cool, but for JCPenney itself, I don't know what I'd like to see more about what they're going to do with the JCPenney brand before I really mark it as interesting because, yes, they have a lot of data. They have a lot of stuff that they could do or plan to do, but none of that's really rolled out yet. So I just. I think it's a little early days for me personally, but I do look forward to seeing what happens. Sarah.

[Sara Lebo]

I mean, it's. I didn't know that. What was it, $8 billion figure?

[Zach Stambor]

Nine billion.

[Sara Lebo]

Nine billion.

[Zach Stambor]

Nine billion in 1800 stores. This is, like, a big, big company.

[Ariel Fager]

But that's like, total the whole of them. You know, so that's not like a crazy amount for like five or six.

[Sara Lebo]

Different brands, but it's a crazy number of customers to now have detailed data on.

[Ariel Fager]

Yeah, right.

[Zach Stambor]

And 60 million customers is a lot of customers. And that does.

[Ariel Fager]

But to your point, are Brooks Brothers people gonna shop at JCPenney?

[Sara Lebo]

But it's still an interesting.

[Zach Stambor]

So there is not alignment with BROOKS Brothers and J.C. penney, full stop. But, like, let's look at the other brands, like Eddie Bauer or Oprastell. Like those brands. I think they do, and I think it makes a lot of sense. And so, yeah, there's a few outliers here and there, but I think overall the vision kind of makes sense to me. I mean, again, it's execution matters, and so how it actually plays out, it will determine the ultimate success of this. But it's undoubtedly an interesting play.

[Sara Lebo]

I think this is interesting. I think. Sorry, Rachel. But it's more interesting than Charlotte Tilbury and so that it should bounce them off the list.

[Ariel Fager]

Yeah, that's fair. Yeah, I would say it is a more interesting. Sorry, Rachel. Than the Charlotte Tilbury thing. So by that trends of the property, then.

[Sara Lebo]

Yeah, we'll toss them in at 8. Sorry, Zach. Sorry, everyone.

[Zach Stambor]

Okay, I'll take it.

[Ariel Fager]

It's on there, you know.

[Sara Lebo]

So our final list we have is number eight, JCPenney, number seven, Best Buy, number six, Target, number five, Costco, number four, Poshmark, number three, Sephora, number two, Temu, and number one, Amazon. That also puts Charlotte Tilbury in honorable mention category area, as well as TJ Maxx. Okay, that is all we have time for today, so thank you so much for being here, Arielle.

[Ariel Fager]

This is super fun. Thank you.

[Sara Lebo]

Thank you, Rachel.

[Rachel Wolf]

Thanks.

[Sara Lebo]

Thanks, Zach.

[Zach Stambor]

Yeah, thanks for having me.

[Sara Lebo]

Thank you to our listeners and to our editing team that edits the podcast. We'll be back next Wednesday for another episode of Reimagining Retail and Emarketer podcast. And on Friday, join Marcus for another video episode of behind the Numbers.