Costco January comp sales (ex. fuel & f/x): US +6.8% / Canada +8.2% / Other Int’l +2.7% / Total Company +6.4% / Digitally-Enabled +33.1% Press release

 

Spotify Will Soon Offer Physical Books at WSJ. “Beginning this spring, the Swedish streaming service will allow premium subscribers in the U.S. and U.K. to buy hardcovers and paperbacks through its app, in partnership with Bookshop.org.” WSJ subs.

 

This year’s Super Bowl commercials feature AI, weight-loss drugs and celebrities galore at AP

 

How Victoria’s Secret got its sexy back at Fortune. “(CEO Hillary) Super’s strategy is showing early signs of success. The company gained market share for two consecutive quarters. After its share price fell 50% in the first half of a volatile 2025, it began a steady climb in the fall and is now up 63% year over year. Since Super was announced as CEO, the company’s 183% gain has outperformed the S&P’s specialty retail index by more than eight times.” Fortune subs.

 

Canada Goose Q3 revenue +14% Press release

 

Beijing asks shipping companies to consider rerouting cargo through ports other than Panama Bloomberg subs.

 

Amazon worker increased his hours to 80/week but it wasn’t enough to avoid layoff at Seattle Times. “Several employees who spoke with The Seattle Times said they’d loved working for Amazon…But as Amazon shifted its priorities to AI over the past few years, they noticed a broader cultural shift. The pace at Amazon was already high, like “driving on a freeway at 100 miles per hour trying to catch things,” as the laid-off security engineer put it. The focus on AI increased that pace.” Read more

 

Boot Barn Q3: Comp sales increased 5.7%, with retail store same store sales increasing 3.7% and e-commerce same store sales increasing 19.6% Press release

 

Bob’s Discount Furniture announces pricing of IPO at $17.00 per share Press release

 

Layoffs hit their worst January levels since 2009, Challenger says at CNBC. “U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago and 205% from December 2025. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009.” Read more

 

‘Entirely false’: Buc-ee’s responds to rumor claiming founder Arch ‘Beaver’ Aplin III donated to ICE at Houston Chronicle/Yahoo

 

Washington Post lays off one-third of its newsroom – including Caroline O’Donovan, who covers Amazon NBC News

 

France to wage ‘year of resistance’ against Shein, online platforms, minister says at Reuters. “We need to protect ourselves of course, there is unfair competition, they must respect the consumer rules (applied to French retailers),” Papin said…two French lawmakers are preparing a bill that would allow the government to suspend online platforms without the need for court approval…” Reuters subs.

 

Pandora, the world’s largest jeweler jumps as CEO says firm wants to pivot from silver at CNBC