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 different kind of repeat customer at Home Depot to American Apparel's Netflix debut, here are some of the most interesting reads from the past week.
A Burning Man shopping spree
Home Depot draws its business from a diverse range of do-it-yourself-ers and contractors—and that includes, during a certain time of the year, “burners,” also known as attendees of the annual Burning Man festival at Black Rock City in Nevada. During the weeks leading up to event, where no food, water, or transportation is provided, Home Depot’s stores near the event see sales of rope increase 220%, water 200%, tarps 404%, and dust masks 521%.
Diamonds are a man's best friend
Racked’s Chavie Lieber looks at the male-focused marketing and business decisions behind the jewelry company that brought us such iconic lines (and accompanying cheesy commercials) as “He went to Jared” and “Every kiss begins with Kay.”
Vintage style
American Apparel is seeing all sorts of troubles, and this latest news likely won’t help. Last week in an interview with the New York Times, Leslie Schilling, costume designer for Netflix’s mini-series "Wet Hot American Summer," which is set in a 1981 summer camp, said that American Apparel was one of her go-tos for nerdy, vintage-looking short shorts, tube socks, and baseball tees.
A change in fashion
The Washington Post profiles Candice Huffine, a plus-sized model making waves in the traditionally uber-thin fashion modeling world with a spread in Vogue and a spot in the inclusive Pirelli Calendar publication—“a veritable roster of the most famous models of their time."
Breaking with tradition
One of Nordstrom’s newest hires is not the buttoned-up executive that one would associate with the storied, $13 billion fashion department store. Olivia Kim, the mastermind behind Nordstrom’s latest Space shop-in-shop concept, is described by the New York Times as having “a ‘Babes in Toyland’ squeak, intermittently bleach-blond hair and the letters S-I-C-K tattooed across her knuckles.”
