Every brand and its mother are scrambling to figure out a plan to enter the much-hyped metaverse. (Meanwhile, our mothers are still texting us once a week to ask what an NFT is.)

“Games [are] an extension of social media. These are environments where people aren’t just playing; they’re purchasing and socializing,” explained Charles Hambro, co-founder and CEO of Geeiq, a gaming/metaverse consultancy and data platform.

• It works with companies like Tommy Hilfiger and L’Oréal on gaming strategy and helped Gucci with its meta moves.

With roughly 2.7 billion people playing games globally, there’s opportunity in digital retail—but brands are going to need a map.

Hambro says it’s crucial to begin by laying out your objectives. “Start with the why. Why are you getting involved with gaming and the metaverse in this industry? Before we get involved, we have a policy where we don’t work with brands on a one-off project. We will only work for brands who have the ambition to have a long-term strategy in the space,” he told Retail Brew. “Don’t just come in because you think it's the cool next thing to do.”

What’s your point? The reasons to get meta vary from brand to brand, Hambro explained. Some want to connect with younger consumers; others want to express their values or messages in a way that they’re unable to do through a typical digital platform.

“All of these are very different objectives,” Hambro said. “Once we’ve defined those objectives, we look at opportunities that match those objectives.”

With the Roblox-based Gucci Garden, for example, the fashion house wanted to create a virtual installation that paid homage to past ad campaigns and let users browse and buy its digital collection.

• Geeiq gave Gucci the space to craft a fantastical shopping experience—a maze of colorful lights that transform into a patterned garment, an open forest, a pool—without using any literal space.

Click here to read more about how to make a move in the metaverse.—JG

Retailers are making a push to support BIPOC-owned and -founded beauty brands by offering not only shelf space, but also support in navigating the ins and outs of growing a business.

Last week, Ulta Beauty unveiled a $50 million investment in DE&I, doubling last year’s $25 million commitment. The company said its focus is across four categories: bolstering underrepresented voices, diversifying its product offerings, and improving experiences for both its customers and associates.

• In part: $8.5 million will support marketing efforts for Black-owned, founded, and led brands, while $3.5 million will go toward enhancing in-store merchandising so shoppers can find them.

Meanwhile, Target on Friday announced it added 20 Black-owned or -founded beauty brands to its lineup—marking a 65% boost in its offerings since 2020, with 70+ now available.

• The big-box store last year made a pledge to spend at least $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by the end of 2025.

A long shelf-life: Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell noted to Business Insider last week that simply stocking products from “diverse founders doesn’t guarantee that these brands are going to be successful.” So, the retailer also announced actress and Pattern Beauty founder Tracee Ellis Ross as DE&I advisor, which Kimbell said will help Ulta provide a “sustainable, long-term impact” on these brands.

• “We’ve spent time listening to Tracee’s experience to make sure we can create an environment where emerging BIPOC brands are supported as they navigate the Ulta Beauty environment, so they understand the supply chain, they’re building branding, etc.,” he said.

“Diversity equity inclusion is not separate from our business strategies,” Kimbell added. “It is inherently built into our vision and the way we believe we will be successful going forward.”—EC

Carry on, but there’s something to see here: Flexport said on Monday that it had scored $935 million in funding, valuing the logistics company at $8+ billion.

• The Series E round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and MSD Partners; Shopify also participated, among other investors.
• Flexport last raised $$ in 2019: $1 billion.

Lots of demand: Investors are increasingly looking to tech to take on supply-chain disruptions—pouring $24.3 billion in VC funding into such startups throughout the first three quarters of 2021, per Pitchbook data. And Flexport looks to have found its sweet spot since it was founded in 2013.

The freight forwarding company, which uses its software to integrate supply-chain data, had $3.3 billion in sales in 2021 (up from $1.3 billion in 2020), according to Forbes.

• It’s also the “world’s seventh biggest buyer of cargo room” on those busy trans-Pacific routes, per the magazine, despite not owning its own ships, planes, or trains.

“Our industry thinks I’m a clown, which I don’t mind,” Flexport founder Ryan Petersen told Forbes. “I need to continue to convince them that I’m crazy so they don’t get their act together and compete with us.”—JS

Today’s top retail reads.

Free sample: At this point, Costco shoppers are used to seeing the Kirkland brand all over the store, but it wasn’t always that way. Here’s how the private label became a staple. (CNN)

Fresh coat: A look at DTC paint brand Backdrop’s strategy of partnering with apparel brands. (Modern Retail)

Just keep shopping: People are still buying boxes of macaroni and cheese and toilet paper (and more) in bulk nearly two years into the pandemic, leading retailers to adjust how much inventory they keep in stock. (The Wall Street Journal)

What happened in the world of retail this week in…1894 and beyond? Retail Brew takes you way, way, way back.

Grab a Reese’s before you reminisce:

• On February 8, 2006, Starbucks announced its ready-to-drink iced coffee bev in partnership with Pepsi-Cola Company, and (cold) Brew lovers all across North America rejoiced.
• On February 9, 1894, Milton Hershey founded the Hershey Chocolate Company.
• Also on February 9, but in 2001, Mattel said it was giving us the first full-length Barbie movie, an adaption of The Nutcracker. (Apparently, it was one animator’s “entire job” to ensure Barbie’s hair moved just right as she danced.)
• And on February 11, 2010, the iconic fashion designer, Alexander McQueen, was found dead by suicide at the age of 40.

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

• What’s “metail”? Joel Bines will explain
• “An underlooked and underserved market”: How one startup is making online grocery more accessible for EBT recipients
• Secure delivery lockers are huge all over the world. Why not in the US?