Outdoor Voices’ layoffs via Slack ‘lack basic empathy,’ says expert

Athletic apparel brand Outdoor Voices is just the latest in a long line of companies to conduct mass layoffs — and “totally mishandle” them, says a leadership expert. Employees were notified on Wednesday, via an internal Slack message, that the company was closing all 16 of their brick and mortar stores, “embarking on a new … Read more

Why direct-to-consumer darlings Casper, Allbirds, Peloton now struggle

The direct-to-consumer boom is coming to an end. A once-bustling group of companies, backed by billions in venture capital funding, saw a record year for IPOs in 2021. Now, three years later, most of those direct-to-consumer, or DTC, companies still struggle with profitability. “It’s that profitability angle now that demarcates the winners in DTC from … Read more

Retail return fraud is rising as key holiday deadline approaches

Deadlines loom for consumers who want to send back unwanted holiday gifts. Many retailers extend return windows for purchases made in November and December through the end of January. But in many other parts of the return process, companies have become less lenient. As more consumers shop online and send back more of those orders, … Read more

Gen Zers lead the way in Singapore’s online shopping space

Logos of online social media and social networking sites displayed on a smartphone screen on August 01, 2023 in Bath, England. Matt Cardy | Getty Images News | Getty Images SINGAPORE — As more businesses turn to social media to sell their merchandise, online shoppers in Singapore are exploring new buying experiences — and Gen … Read more

Asia’s young and rich are fueling art demand — what are they collecting?

Auctioneer Victoire Gineste gestures as she adjudicates for 20 million euros ($21.9 million) a recently rediscovered drawing by Michelangelo, the artist’s first known nude, at the Christie’s auction house in Paris on May 18, 2022. Emmanuel Dunand | Afp | Getty Images Wealthy, young collectors in Asia have been fueling demand for art — particularly … Read more

Retailers, Covid-era nostalgia revive the vinyl records industry

A stack of freshly pressed gold vinyl records at United Record Pressing. CNBC This story is part of CNBC’s new quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have been transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and workers. Once considered a dying industry, the vinyl record business … Read more