Today in Retail: TikTok and Foursquare Partner on In-Store Visit Metrics; Wolverine’s Q1 Reflects Consumers’ Quest for New Kicks

Today in retail, sellers are relying on social media to boost their bottom lines while Kohl’s shareholders retain its 13 member board of directors, defying a push by Macellum Advisors to make leadership changes.

Plus, YETI’s pivot to eCommerce boosts its Q1 earnings and Allbirds joins the growing list of direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies that are finding sales don’t match expectations.

Kohl’s Shareholders Ignore Activist Investor, Retain Board

As Kohl’s prepares for a possible sale, its shareholders have rejected a bid by an activist investor Macellum Advisors to remove 10 members of the retailer’s board of director. The company’s 13 directors were re-elected at Kohl’s annual shareholder meeting.

Arguing that Kohl’s has fallen short of its potential, Macellum wanted the retail chain to consider changes such as selling and leasing back real estate and selling the company outright, urging voters earlier this week to choose its own nominees for the board of directors.

TikTok, Foursquare Partner to Garner In-Store Visit Data

TikTok and Foursquare are collaborating to help sellers and advertisers gather more data about in-store visits across the U.S. and Canada through the integration of Foursquare Attribution, the company’s measurement product.

In a company blog post, TikTok said the partnership will help the two companies quantify the effectiveness of advertising campaigns when it comes to driving consumers into stores. Foursquare Attribution is used by more than 1,000 brands and over 550 publishers and platforms, and the integration will use metrics to help advertisers to understand the effectiveness of their TikTok ad campaigns.

Dog Days for D2Cs: Allbirds Joins Peloton, Etsy, Warby Parker on List of Fallen Angels

Despite their appeal and brand recognition, the stocks of D2C companies like Allbirds, Etsy, Warby Parker and Peloton have all declined by 60% or more in the past six months alone.

While the companies’ products and services are widely respected, there is a serious disconnect going on right now between viable, well-liked consumer-facing businesses and cratering stock prices amid increased external economic headwinds.

Wolverine Worldwide Benefits From Increased Demand for New Footwear

Wolverine Worldwide, whose portfolio includes brands like Saucony and Merrell, experienced a 20% revenue increase in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, riding the footwear market’s upward-trending growth.

Sperry led the increase for the three months ending April 2 with an 18.7% upswing to $67.4 million, followed by Wolverine’s 12.2% year-over-year increase to $58.8 million. Meanwhile, Saucony grew 3.7% to $106.4 million, while Merrell fell 1.5% to $147.9 million.

Sweaty Betty, which Wolverine acquired in August, reported $53.6 million in the quarter. Wolverine’s consumer revenue was also up 24% year over year.

YETI Sees Increased Demand After eCommerce Pivot

In its 2022 first-quarter earnings report, YETI said that it will continue to focus on growing digital and in-person branding opportunities and its redesigned eCommerce platform.

YETI’s Q1 sales for the three months ending April 2 increased 19% year over year to $293.6 million. The company saw a 24% hike in drinkware sales to $184 million — led by new colors, sizes and a push for customization — and a 23% growth in D2C sales to $156 million.

D2C sales now make up 53% of YETI’s overall sales, up from 51% in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. Additionally, Wholesale channel sales rose 14% to $137.7 million, driven by coolers, equipment and drinkware sales.

Data: Nearly Half of Online Marketplace Sellers See Social Media as Hub for Future Growth

While smaller sellers have leveraged online marketplace platforms, 40% of these marketplace-native firms believe such platforms will not determine their future success, according to the PYMNTS report “Online Sellers: The Future Is Multichannel.”

Whether they operate seamlessly within the online marketplace infrastructure or online sales are just one piece of their business, online sellers have become a major part of the economy. PYMNTS surveyed 317 online sellers to explore how they intend to take their signature wares multichannel to cement their top-seller status. The report examines the factors that drive these sellers, and explores the directions they are likely to take in the future.