|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Biggest Retailers Are Thriving in the Tariff Economy; The Onion’s Print Revival Is Working; NBCUniversal and MLB Near a $600 Million Deal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good morning. Today, retail therapy only works if stores address consumer anxiety; the Onion hopes its return to print will also bring back profits; and Major League Baseball is picking up the pieces after its breakup with ESPN.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The owner of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods raised its outlook Wednesday after reporting better-than-expected financial results. Mario Tama/Getty Images
|
|
|
|
|
|
Retailers who cater to cautious consumers are winning in the tariff economy, and those who don’t are falling behind, Sarah Nassauer and Natasha Khan write.
Walmart, Amazon and the owner of T.J. Maxx are scooping up market share from rivals by offering shoppers good deals and convenience.
Walmart has kept price hikes down by absorbing much of the tariff cost.
TJX is snapping up excess inventory that other retailers ordered ahead of tariffs and now need to unload. Its CEO called the buying opportunities “outstanding.”
And Amazon made improvements to its delivery network that helped get packages to customers faster and more cheaply. That helped propel an 11% increase in online-store sales in the latest quarter.
Related: Walmart’s ability to curtail price hikes is being bolstered by its high-margin advertising business. [Digiday]
Another strategy: Home Depot and Lowe’s are answering consumers’ DIY delays by chasing professionals. [WSJ]
|
|
|
|
|
Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
|
|
|
Creating Stability For Workers So Organizations Can Move Fast
|
|
As disruption becomes the norm and traditional sources of stability for workers fall away, organizations should identify new anchors to adapt and thrive. Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Onion has more than 53,000 monthly print subscribers. Photo: The Onion
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Onion’s bet on print subscribers is paying off, Alexandra Bruell reports.
Jeff Lawson, a co-founder and former CEO of Twilio, bought the satirical publication last year when it was a free, ad-supported website, having abandoned its original print edition more than a decade earlier.
Now the Onion has more than 53,000 subscribers paying as much as $9 a month and a new deal to sell its monthly print edition at Barnes & Noble.
The Onion isn’t profitable, but CEO Ben Collins aims to fix that by next year.
“People like getting something in the mail that’s not f—ing awful,” he said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“WTF is wrong with @CrackerBarrel??!”
|
|
— Donald Trump Jr. responding to a post on X suggesting that the restaurant chain’s new logo, which removes the image of a man sitting next to a barrel, was driven by DEI
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Baseball isn’t the marquee property it once was, but postseason baseball especially remains an attractive draw to many viewers. Photo: Photo: David Zalubowski/Associated Press
|
|
|
|
|
|
Major League Baseball expects its new media rights deals to ultimately exceed the value of the pact that ESPN abandoned, Joe Flint and Isabella Simonetti write.
Things looked grim earlier this year when ESPN walked over the league’s refusal to lower the $550 million yearly fee the network was set to pay from 2026 to 2028.
But NBCUniversal is now in advanced talks to carry games on NBC and the Peacock streaming service in a three-year pact approaching $200 million annually, people familiar with the matter said.
Netflix is close to a deal to stream the “Home Run Derby” for more than $35 million a year.
And ESPN is back at the table, looking to strike a deal around local games but potentially picking up some in-market and national games as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
30%
|
|
Size of the price hike for monthly subscriptions to Apple TV+ in the U.S. The service will now cost $12.99 per month.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If dating apps are in free fall, ‘our data and anecdotes are telling a completely different story,’ says Raya founder and CEO Daniel Gendelman. Photo: Maddy Rotman for WSJ. Magazine
|
|
|
|
|
|
Everyone hates dating apps along with their marketing now, but Raya claims a waitlist of 2.5 million people. It also doesn’t advertise. [WSJ]
Bose is shifting money from paid search advertising into brand-building after a large-scale test over the summer. [Ad Age]
“Surrounded,” a series on YouTube that surrounds a celebrity with 20 people for a debate, exemplifies a trend giving online dynamics physical form. [NYT]
Gap’s “Better in Denim” campaign starring girl group Katseye dancing to “Milkshake” is going viral and drawing praise for brand fidelity. [Newsweek]
Hooters’ $30 million turnaround plan hinges on making its brand less risqué. [WSJ Video]
Paramount trolled “Mission Impossible” fans on National Radio Day by claiming “Final Reckoning” was free on YouTube but posting just a video of the script in Morse code. [THR]
The new ad agency from MSCHF introduced itself with an Instagram post borrowing the trademarked logo styles of brands including Coca-Cola, Ford, Barbie, Nascar and Ikea. [CreativeBloq]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
