We dunno about you, but for us back-to-school time means a little prep, a little play, and one quick recess before the big test: peak season. We’re Sidekick, your monthly industry cheat sheet for what’s happening in retail ops and comms. And yeah, you can copy our homework.
🥀 A beauty breakup with a twist ending
🦾 Is in-store AI the key to fighting off online competition?
🛁 Why bath toys are big business
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Ulta Beauty and Target are pursuing new paths for acquiring customers after the end of their in-store partnership.
The end of Ulta–Target has people buzzing. But is their conscious uncoupling really a failure or just a vibe check on shifting priorities and thriftier buyers? It looks to us more like the latter: both sides letting the current deal run its course, pocketing what they learned about traffic, loyalty linkages, and beauty attach rates—then moving on. For brands, the takeaway should be clear: treat shop-in-shops like a timed lift, not a forever format.
AI at H&M touches ops, pricing, marketing, and real-time shopper signals.
Our take: we refuse to ever say “phygital,” but combining high-end tech with in-store
experience might be H&M’s best move.
Wegmans’ Next Door turns a grocery run intodestination diningwith a bold experiential retail play.
It’s on a cushy corner at 4th Ave & E 8th, Manhattan.
The vibe is omakase, not happy hour: six nigiri will set you back $52.
Our take: it’s a flagship flex, not a mass rollout, but it reinforces the “we do quality” story.
Rubber duck shops exist, and somehow no one told us.
Duck World operates four shops (“nests”!) in London.
≥70% gross margins keep them buoyant (for now).
Treatanomics: buying “small, affordable, mood-boosting luxuries” instead of booking that week in Cabo.
Your monthly meme
Planogram isn’t Latin for “good luck with that,” but it probably should be. An effective comms strategy can help keep your frontline teams honest. We hear that a photo-verified tasking workflow can help too.
Valvoline, Communications Lead (Lexington, Kentucky) Seeking someone to inspire teams, strengthen culture, and design creative ways to connect our fast-paced, deskless workforce. See the posting here.
Five Below, Manager, Retail Activation (Philadelphia, PA) The right candidate will be responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of large-scale in-store experiences across 1,800+ stores. See the posting here.
AKIRA, Director of Retail Operations (Chicago, IL) Lead operational efficiencies, focused on store layout, inventory management, compliance, new store openings, budgeting, loss prevention, and customer experience. See the posting here.
Sidekick wants to give you more signal, less noise. Want deeper dives? More news coverage? Fewer buzzwords? (Recipes!?) Your call—reply to this email and let us know.
