Retail & Consumer Goods

NEW YORK – November 10, 2026 -- Centric Brands CEO Jason Rabin has taken a majority stake in the lifestyle brand portfolio after completing its sale to a new investor group. The group comprises Axar Capital Management, M-Cor Capital, MSP Sports Capital and Group President Jarrod Kahn. The announcement did not include a transaction value.

Current management stays in place as ownership changes

Rabin remains CEO, and Centric's current management team will continue to run the company. Outgoing Board Chairperson Marc Schneider said he worked with Rabin, Kahn and the team over the last five years.

Centric has put more than $25 million into global sourcing

The company says it has invested more than $25 million in its global sourcing operation. It also operates distribution centers totaling 2.7 million square feet across California and New Jersey. Centric is rolling out Centric IQ, an internal AI platform, across its global teams.

Bethesda – November 10, 2026 -- Illinois will remove low-dose, hemp-derived THC beverages from licensed retailers on Nov. 12, a month before federal restrictions take effect on Dec. 11, putting more than $50 million in annual retail sales at risk, according to Total Wine & More.

Illinois caps THC at 0.4 mg per container, tighter than federal rules

The state plans to reclassify the beverages as cannabis and limit THC to 0.4 milligrams per container. Total Wine & More says this is harsher than the federal approach and will push demand to illicit sellers.

Shoppers are stocking up ahead of the deadline and emptying shelves across the state, the retailer said.

Birmingham – November 10, 2026 -- Fountain Heights Farms Cooperative (FHFC), a Black-owned urban farm cooperative, opened We All Eat Market on Saturday, Nov. 7, ending a nearly 70-year absence of grocery retail in Birmingham's Fountain Heights neighborhood.

Market opens inside Heart of the Farm facility serving 3,000-plus residents

The store operates inside Heart of the Farm, FHFC's new market and community kitchen in the historic neighborhood. The facility was designed to serve more than 3,000 residents in an area with limited access to fresh, affordable food. Much of the produce sold is grown locally, down the street from the store.

The opening comes as rising grocery prices and SNAP interruptions have made food access less certain for many families, according to the cooperative.

Bad Wimpfen – November 10, 2026 -- Lidl Germany will lift its internal minimum entry wage to at least €16 gross per hour nationwide on December 1, 2026, putting it more than 8% above the statutory minimum wage that takes effect in January 2027.

The grocery discounter has run its own entry wage floor since 2010. Nikoletta Kolomburda, Chief People Officer at Lidl Dienstleistung GmbH & Co. KG, said the increase gives new hires a signal of respect and recognition from their first working day.

Floor applies to newcomers, temps and unskilled staff

The wage is aimed mainly at new entrants, part-time helpers and unskilled workers. Lidl pays according to regional retail collective agreements and tops up any pay that would fall below €16 per hour. Pay then rises with qualification, tenure and collective bargaining grade to preserve the pay gap between levels. Lidl says the large majority of its employees earn noticeably more than the floor.

Munich – November 10, 2026 -- A retailer starting with a 2.5% EBIT margin slides into losses in its fourth year without countermeasures, according to a model calculation by consultancy Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) on German online retail.

Costs grow 2.2 percentage points faster than the German e-commerce market

A&M puts annual cost growth in German e-commerce at 6.1%, against market growth of 3.9%. The gap has widened continuously since 2023, according to the analysis. Higher logistics, personnel and IT costs weigh on profitability, as does the expense of winning new customers.

Customer acquisition costs climb about 9% a year

Under A&M's underlying assumptions, customer acquisition costs (CAC) rise by roughly 9% annually, making each additional sale more expensive to generate. Customer service, logistics, personnel and IT spending add to the cost base.

Chicago and Los Angeles – November 10, 2026 -- Mars has been named Official Salty Snacks Provider of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Team USA, with five brands covered: Cheez-It, Pringles, Club, Town House and Combos.

Cheez-It and Pringles lead the five-brand lineup

Cheez-It and Pringles will front the partnership, which Mars says will place the brands across the Games ecosystem. That ecosystem includes fans, athletes, volunteers and the Olympic family. Mars Snacking plans consumer touchpoints in the run-up to the Games, but the release gave no details on them.

Anton Vincent, President of Mars Snacking North America, said the deal reflects Mars' aim of building shared moments of connection through its brands. John Slusher, CEO of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties, said the five brands give fans across the country an authentic way to experience American staples.

Berlin – November 09, 2026 -- Germany's planned sugar beverage tax threatens the domestic beverage industry with new annual bureaucracy costs in the millions and noticeably higher consumer prices, according to the Wirtschaftsvereinigung Alkoholfreie Getränke (wafg).

wafg urges Bundestag to commission impact assessment before the finance committee hearing

The association issued its appeal ahead of the Bundestag Finance Committee's hearing on excise taxes. It asks lawmakers to do two things: commission the impact assessment on the federal government's plans that is still missing, and use it to simplify the proposed tax collection procedures and set a workable start date.

SEOUL – November 09, 2026 -- KT&G launched its heated tobacco device FLEX and four FAIIM tobacco sticks in Kazakhstan in October, extending its overseas Next Generation Products (NGP) business into a market where it has so far sold combustible cigarettes.

FLEX and FAIIM debut in Almaty before wider rollout

FLEX and FAIIM are locally branded versions of lil AIBLE and AIIM, both currently sold in South Korea, adapted for Kazakhstan. Sales initially cover only Almaty, the country's largest city. KT&G plans to expand its local distribution network gradually.

Forum Mall flagship store targets consumer education

KT&G will operate a FLEX flagship store at Forum Mall, a major shopping center in Almaty. The store will offer brand information and customer consultation, with the aim of improving consumer understanding of the products and broadening the brand experience.

Vancouver – November 08, 2026 -- GreenCore Solutions Corp. is rebranding as WeFetch.ai, an AI software maker for AI shopping, with 84 million barcodes across 70 countries now live for AI agent purchases by consumers, retailers and brands.

WeFetch.ai answers for 84 million products and 3.5 million points of sale

The flagship record, gtinfetch.ai, keys each product to its Global Trade Item Number (GTIN). According to the company, it answers only when sources agree and returns "unknown" instead of guessing. It carries 3.5 million points of sale on its own record, and every answer is signed.

Zurich – November 08, 2026 -- Lalique Group chairman and majority shareholder Silvio Denz, who recently turned 70, has begun succession planning for every business division, and says no decision has been made on investor approaches.

Denz rejects a French blog's speculation on the group's future

Lalique Group issued the statement after a speculative report in a French blog that it says contained several inaccurate claims. The company will give no further information beyond the statement for now.

Group receives regular investor inquiries and reviews them

The group regularly receives inquiries from investors and examines them carefully, according to Denz. His guiding principle is that each division's future and its employees' jobs must be secured long term and its heritage preserved. If a project becomes concrete for any division, employees and their representatives will be informed first.