It’s been another week with far more retail news than there is time in the day. Below, we break down some things you may have missed during the week, and what we’re still thinking about.
From Patagonia’s voting campaign to what low TV purchasing intent means for Best Buy, here’s our closeout for the week.
What you may have missed
Revolve debuts print magazine
Print magazines are back. Fashion retailer Revolve announced Tuesday the launch of Revolve Magazine, an annual print and digital publication showcasing fashion, beauty, culture, travel and commerce. The magazine will include style and product curation, exclusive stories and “trend-focused editorial” from Revolve’s buying and merchandising teams.
Future issues will explore themes including music, sports and travel, and address cultural conversations “through the Revolve point of view,” per a press release. The first issue features three different covers with Kendall Jenner, Teyana Taylor and Alex Consani.
"Revolve has always been about doing things differently and creating new ways to connect with our customers,” Michael Mente, co-founder and co-CEO of Revolve Group, said in a statement. “In a world that's increasingly short-form and digital, we wanted to create something that lets us slow down and have a longer conversation with our customers. It's an extension of the Revolve personality and a physical manifestation of the energy, culture, and point of view Revolve represents."
Cato closures additional stores
Specialty apparel retailer Cato will be closing 70 underperforming stores in the third and fourth quarters, bringing the total closures for the year to about 120 locations. The company estimates it will incur between $1 million and $1.3 million in costs to exit the additional stores, but closing them will boost operating results in fiscal 2027 and beyond, according to a company press release.
"In light of the current economic environment, especially with the negative pressure on our customers' discretionary income, we do not expect these marginal stores to improve appreciably,” CEO John Cato said in a statement. “As a result, we are closing more stores than expected this year."
Retail therapy
A new fragrance just in time for ‘hoa hoa hoa season’
We are firmly in spooky season and to celebrate, Scentbird launched its second drop in collaboration with Lionsgate's Twilight Saga.
The new fragrance product — The Twilight Saga: New Moon Eau de Parfum — aims to transform “the emotional intensity of the second film into a wearable fragrance, drawing fans deeper into the story of love, longing and devotion,” Scentbird said in its announcement Thursday.
The fragrance features notes of ginger flower, Tahitian vanilla, caramel, amber and sandalwood. The product is exclusively available through Scentbird and ranges in price from $4.95 for a 1.5 mL sample to $90 for a 50 mL full-size bottle.
What we’re still thinking about
112,000
That’s how many people Patagonia has reached in an effort to get out the vote, and it took just four days – and $11.2 million. The Environmental Voter Project estimates that 11.2 million environmentalists failed to vote in the 2024 presidential election, Patagonia noted in an emailed press release.
The outdoor apparel company – known for its environmental and election activism – announced late last month that it would give a $100 credit to people who got three others to make a plan to vote. To qualify, a plan had to include figuring out deadlines and voting locations, and deciding whether to vote early, in person or by mail, based on local rules.
While the promotion is over, the voter plan tool will remain online, part of Patagonia’s longstanding effort to encourage people to vote with the environment in mind. The company placed its first get-out-the-vote ad in 1978, and has closed its U.S. offices, stores and warehouse for every federal election since 2016. Election Day is Nov. 3.
What we’re watching
Will consumers upgrade their TVs?
This week’s Conference Board’s consumer confidence report, which showed diminished sentiment, included soft forward purchase intent for new TVs, Jefferies analysts called out in a note Wednesday. Only about 9% of consumers surveyed plan to buy a television in the next six months, down almost 3 points from February, they said. Plus, September’s year-on-year decline was the steepest since the months following President Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs in April 2025.
“Stretched wallets and higher fuel costs are weighing on big-ticket discretionary intent, and TVs are no exception,” the analysts said. “This is notable here given we peg TV's at ~1/5 of Best Buy's sales base.”
Best Buy has positioned itself as the exclusive national retailer of RGB LED TVs, which is the latest advancement in the TV category. Tech-enthusiast customers may be wooed by RGB and convinced to make the upgrade, Jefferies analysts said, but even that innovation won’t be immune if weak TV purchase sentiment is widespread.
