November 14, 2025
- Walmart’s board of directors has elected John Furner to the posts of president and CEO, to replace Doug McMillon when the latter retires from helming the retail giant at the end of January 2026. “John Furner is the right leader to guide Walmart into our next chapter of growth and transformation,” said Greg Penner, Chairman of Walmart Inc. (via Walmart).
- PepsiCo is launching new versions of its popular Doritos chips and Cheetos snacks, titled Simply NKD, on Dec. 1. “We’re turning expectations upside down — removing artificial colors, not the flavor — and proving that unforgettable taste can be colorless,” said Rachel Ferdinando, the CEO of PepsiCo Foods U.S. (via AP News).
- SHEIN is entering a perhaps unlikely category, now selling books via its online platform. “The average Shein customer reads one to three books a month—this isn’t a trend, it’s a lifestyle,” said George Chang, GM and head of Shein Marketplace U.S. “We’re excited to support our customers’ love of reading and learning by teaming up with Alibris to offer a wide variety of books to our shoppers for the very first time” (via Chain Store Age).
- Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce unit has announced an artificial intelligence subscription service angling to drive increased revenue. Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba.com, said “We feel the urgency that we need to use AI to redesign how people do global trade. We think it’s going to be a paradigm shift for e-commerce for B2B” (via CNBC).
- Toy retailers are leaning into the increasingly popular blind box trend, with Walmart and Target teaming up with Mattel and Hasbro, as just some examples, to produce mystery boxes which consumers are looking for. Furby and Barbie were two of the IPs named in early reports (via Reuters).