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November 2025 | Newsletter No. 28
Baker Retail Rundown
Stay in the know with monthly retail challenges and our rundown of top retail industry news, curated by our talented Penn student analysts.
Terry J. Lundgren, former chairman and CEO of Macy’s Inc., was honored with the Retail Excellence Award by Wharton’s Baker Retailing Center and the RLC Global Forum, recognizing his lasting impact on the industry. Surrounded by top retail executives and peers, Lundgren was celebrated for his leadership in transforming Macy’s through initiatives like the May Department Stores merger, the My Macy’s localization strategy, and early investments in e-commerce. In his remarks, he underscored the importance of humility and collaboration in leadership, noting that success comes from “surrounding yourself with people who have the answers.” Comparing his Macy’s team to “the Yankees,” Lundgren credited collective talent and engagement as the foundation of the company’s achievements. Though retired since 2018, his continued involvement with institutions like Wharton and the University of Arizona underscores his ongoing commitment to developing the next generation of retail leaders.
L’Oréal will acquire Kering’s beauty brands and licenses for its fashion house names, including Gucci and the prestige fragrance maker Creed, in a $4.6 billion deal. The agreement grants L’Oréal exclusive rights to produce Gucci Beauty once its current contract with Coty ends in 2028, extending for 50 years. It also includes exclusive licenses for the recently launched Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga perfumes. Kering CEO Luca de Meo said the partnership will “accelerate the development of fragrance and cosmetics for our major Houses,” drawing parallels to the success of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté under L’Oréal’s leadership. Along with the cash payment, L’Oréal will pay royalties to Kering on its licensed brands, with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2026. For Kering, the move signals not retreat but renewal – offloading a struggling beauty arm to redirect capital toward stabilizing its core luxury brands.
Gap Inc. has announced a multiyear partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate its technology and AI transformation. According to Executive VP and CTO Sven Gerjets, the goal is to use AI tools and streamlined workflows to free Gap teams to focus on what matters most—creativity, culture, and customer connection. Through tools like Google’s Gemini generative AI assistant, the Vertex AI platform, and the BigQuery data warehouse, the retailer aims to speed up product development, optimize marketing, and enhance employee decision-making. The move places Gap among a growing group of industry leaders - including Walmart and Ralph Lauren - investing heavily in AI to drive innovation and long-term growth.
E.l.f. Cosmetics is breaking new ground as the first brand to use Amazon Ads’ new interactive ad format on Twitch, launching a feature on its dedicated channel, E.l.f. You!, where viewers can now shop products directly through livestreams. The partnership leverages Amazon’s powerful retail media data to help E.l.f. better target and measure campaigns—just in time for the crucial holiday shopping season. Originally launched on Twitch in 2020 to connect with gaming communities and empower women creators, E.l.f. You! has already drawn over 43 million minutes watched and nearly 24,000 followers. Since Twitch has become an important bridge for reaching gamers and beauty enthusiasts, the partnership is a way for the cosmetics retailer to generate more revenue, and place itself at the intersection of beauty, entertainment, and commerce innovation!
On October 20, 2025, a major Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage disrupted key platforms including WhatsApp, the British government’s website and tax services, Venmo, and even parts of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The issue originated in Amazon’s massive Northern Virginia data center, and exposed how dependent governments and businesses have become on just a handful of cloud providers. Dr. Harry Halpin, whose VPN company serves soldiers in Ukraine, said he received urgent messages from troops affected by the outage — a sign, he noted, of the risks of such centralized infrastructure. “Everyone takes it for normal,” Halpin said. “But it’s not normal.” The disruption renewed calls for diversification in cloud computing and for nations to host their own regional cloud systems rather than relying solely on Amazon, Google, Microsoft, or Chinese firms. Despite the disruption, Amazon’s share price barely moved in premarket trading, suggesting that investors were not too bothered about the outage.
October Challenge Winner
Driving Brand Growth w/Community & Culture
What’s a meaningful way a retail brand can drive growth by leveraging community or culture — not just for optics, but for real impact?
Lina Mousa
"Fund micro-apprenticeships within the brand's supply chain partners, offering community members guaranteed job interviews upon completion."
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