Pop quiz: What do Rihanna’s intimates brand Savage X Fenty and health and wellness platform Hims & Hers have in common?

Don’t worry, we’ll give you the answer: It’s Christiane Pendarvis, a retail exec with 25+ years of industry experience who serves as Savage X Fenty’s co-president and chief merchandising and design officer, and was just announced as the latest member of Hims & Hers’s board of directors.

Pendarvis has quite an impressive retail résumé: She’s led merchandising at Victoria’s Secret and Aerie and global product operations at Gap, and made the switch to the DTC world eight years ago with roles at Minted and FULLBEAUTY Brands before landing her current gig at Rihanna’s inclusive intimates brand.

The opportunity to join Hims & Hers came when its co-founder and CEO Andrew Dudum slid into Pendarvis’s LinkedIn DMs, she told Retail Brew. Given her apparel background, she said she was “very surprised” to see the message, but soon found she was “intrigued and impressed” by the complexity of the Hims & Hers platform and its mission to democratize healthcare with personalized prescription and over-the-counter offerings. So while the gig may not be “an obvious fit,” she said the DTC retail arm of the company and the opportunities for brand-building and product development sparked her interest.

Pendarvis shared her vision for Hims & Hers, her strategy for navigating the evolving DTC space, and how challenger brands are “inherently thinking different” compared to legacy brands.

Keep reading here.—EC

If you’ve ever worked in the office when lunchtime rolls around, you’ve probably seen the herds of people headed to grab a bowl from Sweetgreen.

The chain of salad counters is known for their organically sourced ingredients and partnerships with local chefs and farms. But as the company rapidly expands, they face the issue of remaining true to their values of sustainability and connecting to their surrounding communities.

Marketing Brew sat down with the salad giant’s chief brand officer, Nathaniel Ru, to find out how they focus their growth strategy on a few organic ingredients and how they maintain their relationships with food and people. Check out the conversation here.

After much consideration, Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden announced last week the retailer will sell some of the unsold stock from its partnership with Yeezy (a fashion collaboration with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West) and donate the proceeds, adding that “burning the goods would not be a solution.”

The announcement came after much speculation about what would happen to the $1.3 billion worth of unsold shoes and apparel that remained as a result of Adidas’s falling out with Yeezy in 2022 in light of Ye’s antisemitic remarks.

The German sneaker retailer netted a loss of $540 million in the final quarter of 2022 due to the failure of its partnership with Ye, but Gulden seems optimistic about finding a solution, though it could be tricky.

Keep reading here.—JS

Today’s top retail reads.

Apothe-scary: Reports of an Olay sunscreen selling for $50 raises the question of how much consumers are willing to pay for drugstore brands, although Olay said the MSRP for the product is $29.99. (Glossy)

Sucker punch: With high sugar prices, candy companies grapple with whether to raise prices or shrink products. (BBC)

Extra ball: Why pinball, whose demise has been predicted for decades, is making a comeback in arcades and rumpus rooms. (The Economist)

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A roundup of our favorite retail multimedia content from across platforms this week—from TikTok to Twitter. We’re keeping you hip, and you’re welcome.

Make your day: An update from last week: It’s now day 19 of one TikToker checking in on the sales at Bed Bath & Beyond. Spoiler: They haven’t gotten much better. (@ilovebread_ok on TikTok)

Link up: Takeaways from Shoptalk Europe 2023, according to Lionesque Group CEO and founder Melissa Gonzalaez. (Melissa Gonzalez on LinkedIn)

RT: Beyond Meat responded to a Twitter user’s video replacing the alt-meat brand’s products with traditional beef on a grocery store shelf. (Beyond Meat on Twitter)

Double tap: In honor of mental health awareness month, skin care brand Topicals asked its Brooklyn community: “Who (or what) changed your perception of beauty?” (Topicals on Instagram)

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• AI automation in manufacturing is about visibility and flexibility
• 1-800-Flowers embraced ChatGPT leading up to Mother’s Day
• This is what a cannabis ‘lifestyle concept store’ looks like