STORES

260 Sample Sale

Long before lines wrapped around New York City’s blocks for 260 Sample Sale’s cult designer sales, siblings Assaf and Ariel Azani’s father ran an unassuming off-price store filled with merchandise from different vendors.

“Our father started the company, and it wasn’t called 260 Sample Sale at the time,” Assaf, now the company’s CEO, told Retail Brew. “He sort of had a nondescript off-price store with mixed vendors as well.”

Over the years, that business evolved into 260 Sample Sale, one of fashion’s most recognizable event operators, known for weeklong sales featuring everything from cult brands to luxury labels.

Now, after two decades of building an event-driven business, the brothers are returning to their roots with a modern twist.

This summer, the company is formally rebranding its three permanent New York stores under a new banner, Store260. The concept—which operates locations on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, and in SoHo—offers discounted merchandise from more than 60 brands year-round, spanning apparel, beauty, fragrances, bedding, candles, and home goods.

Keep reading here.—JS

      

Sponsored By Anrok

For a growing footwear brand, baby steps couldn’t cut it when they entered the US market.

That’s why IDA Sports, which specializes in soccer cleats specifically designed for women and girls, turned to Anrok for help. IDA Sports’ finance team discovered the brand crossed sales tax thresholds in multiple states without the registrations and filing process in place.

Anrok provided nexus monitoring, registrations, filings, reconciliation, and guidance from tax experts. Their fast onboarding, simple Shopify integration, and hands-on expert support got IDA Sports compliant across 10 states.

Two days’ worth of monthly tax work became a few hours long, and it gave them the confidence to scale to additional states.

Read the full success story here.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR & TRENDS

Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Adobe Stock

Food and beverage brands’ efforts to get consumers to buy more haven’t quite been bearing fruit so far this year.

According to new analysis from Bain using NielsenIQ data, unit sales for US grocery have been down nearly 2% YoY most months from February through June, with June sales down 1.8% YoY.

The consistent drop in unit growth began in mid-2025, Bain found. Inflated prices between 2% and 3% haven’t been enough to offset the steady unit slowdown, driving sales down to muted growth in 2026 compared to the previous year.

Several factors are driving consumers to buy less, including cuts in SNAP benefits and eligibility, climbing gas prices, and GLP-1 usage, the report noted, with higher tax refunds this year helping keep consumers spending. Bain found that 80% of US consumers say they are aiming to spend less, with 28% specifically cutting back on grocery spend. Of those trimming their grocery bills, 56% are shifting to lower-priced options, while 49% are buying less altogether.

Keep reading here.—EC

      

MARKETING

NBCUniversal

The recipe for an epic girls’ weekend includes cocktails, thematic home decor, and…a surprise guest?

At least, that’s key to the plot of The Five Star Weekend, a Peacock show based on a novel from Elin Hilderbrand, an author who is a favorite on BookTok. Starring Jennifer Garner as Hollis Shaw, a food and lifestyle influencer whose world is turned upside down when her husband suddenly dies in a car crash, the eight-episode series centers on a girls’ weekend at Hollis’s Nantucket home, an event she hosts as a way to cope with her grief. The invitees include a friend from each phase of Hollis’s life, plus one unexpected guest.

To support the original scripted series, the premade cocktail beverage brand On the Rocks Bartender Created Cocktails, as well as HomeGoods, signed on as sponsors.

Keep reading here on Marketing Brew.—JN

      

swapping skus

Today’s top retail reads.

Leaf by leaf: Foot traffic at chains like Chopt and Chipotle is falling amid the cyclosporiasis spread. (the New York Times)

Strike zone: Ukrainian drones have targeted Russia’s biggest online retailer, Wildberries, hitting many of its warehouses. (BBC)

Cheap thrills: Why value-seeking consumers are looking to private labels. (Reuters)

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Jobs

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• Head of Innovation Strategy at Henkel
• Technology Director: Marketing & Loyalty at The Home Depot
• Sales Director, Retail & CPG at LiveRamp
• Director CPG Instore Media Sales at Quad
• Director, eCommerce at Appearance Technology Group