As the editor of Retail Dive, it’s my job to keep tabs on every piece of retail-related news—the good, the bad, and the silly. From a Birkin bag name dispute to a Mad Men auction, here are some of the most interesting reads from the past week.
Started from the bottom, now we're here
Skechers announced during its quarterly report this week that it is the number one brand for work shoes and the number one walking brand, with quarterly sales growth hitting a record high in its 23-year history. While it’s not looking to snag any marathon runners from Nike, as Quartz points out, the company has found its niche with the mall walkers and errand-running moms it has long been associated with, looking for a comfortable shoe to accompany their athleisure ensemble.
Sexting sells
Calvin Klein just took its typically sexy ads and doubled down by partnering with Tinder on a new campaign featuring (what else?) sexting “inspired by actual events and people.”
F15 Calvin Klein Jeans: inspired by real matches, texts + encounters. Stay tuned for more. Meet us. #mycalvins https://t.co/iDnyd2qBp1
— Calvin Klein (@CalvinKlein) July 29, 2015
Mad mementos
If you ever coveted a pair of Peggy Olson’s heels or a Don Draper suit while watching the TV show Mad Men, today might be your lucky day. Auction website Screenbid will begin auctioning off 1,400 mementos from the show, including some trash (Don’s candy wrapper) and treasures (Betty’s engagement ring and Joan’s emerald necklace).
High class problems
Actress and singer Jane Birkin released a statement this week asking luxury retailer Hermes to remove her name from its widely expensive crocodile-skin Birkin bags, after seeing reports alleging that the crocodile and alligator farms that supply some bags’ material use cruel methods during the reptiles’ slaughter.
Amazon’s fun side
Amazon seems to have a mastery of almost all things Internet, and that includes Tumblr. As Digiday points out, the e-commerce giant’s official Tumblr page is “well-versed in Tumblrspeak,” sharing random and bizarre items sold on its site, making it the “SkyMall for the cool kids.”