H&M posts weaker-than-expected fiscal first-quarter sales in slow start to the year at CNBC. “Sales at the Swedish fashion giant rose 2%…Operating profit totaled 1.2 billion in the first quarter, versus 1.9 billion Swedish krona expected.” Read more

 

Petco Q4 comp sales +0.5% Press release

 

Amazon launches personalized shopping prompts as part of its generative AI push at TechCrunch. “…announced on Wednesday a new feature called “Interests,” aimed at creating a more personalized and conversational search experience. With the new feature, customers can enter tailored prompts in the search bar, reflecting their interests, preferences, and even their budget.” Read more

 

Amazon Pharmacy medical chief Gupta is latest health exec to leave company at CNBC

 

How PayPal, Sam’s Club, and Nordstrom Plan to Grow Their Ad Businesses at Adweek. “…Sam’s Club hosts tailgate events in cities across the country. In Kansas City, shoppers can play football and get autographs from National Football League players. “The best part of that for a brand is that you get to see things. You get to touch things. You get to taste things, smell things,” he said. “We’re tracking all of that at the member-level.” Read more

 

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s star-studded wedding guest list revealed at NY Post

 

Academy Sports + Outdoors Surpasses 300 Stores Press release

 

Amazon ramps up its fight against fakes with help from AI and law enforcement at GeekWire. “Amazon says it worked with Chinese law enforcement on cases that led to more than 60 raids in 2024. More than 100 suspected counterfeiters were detained, and several were convicted. Those are some of the details from Amazon’s new Brand Protection Report, released Tuesday night.” Read more

 

Zulily goes through another ownership change as Beyond to sell majority stake in retail site for $5M at GeekWire

 

The pain—and glory—of a self-made billionaire’s insatiable drive at Fortune. “In his thirties and forties, when he was building the e-commerce businesses that would make him a billionaire, Marc Lore hardly ever made it home for weeknight dinners with his wife and two daughters. During the intense periods of fundraising that became his calling card, he sometimes wouldn’t make it home at all.” Fortune subs.

 

Dollar Tree is selling Family Dollar, ending its disastrous merger at CNN