Life takes you places and so, sometimes, does fashion. With the latter, it can often be the most unexpected places. For Parisian luxury brand Zadig & Voltaire, it was Mexico.

The brand, which was founded in 1997 and opened its first boutique in Mexico City in December, is known for its edgy and eclectic aesthetic, has stores across Europe and the US, and is hoping to lend a taste of its zesty style to a growing consumer base in the region.

The retailer already operates within Mexico through a wholesale business in the El Palacio department store and has seen “strong customer sales” from local residents as well as from Southern America, according to the company.

In fact, Zadig & Voltaire North America CEO Kristen Sosa is so confident about the company’s popularity among shoppers in Mexico, she tells Retail Brew, the brand plans on rolling out eight more stores in the next three to four years, with about two boutiques in the pipeline for the end of this year.

In an exclusive conversation with Retail Brew, Sosa talked about the retailer’s uniquely tailored strategies for the region and how it plans on appealing to locals in Mexico.

Keep reading here.—JS

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In a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon made the case for why technology investments should benefit both employees and customers.

“We love what technology can do,” he said. “But we’re building it in a way that creates better careers at the same time it creates better customer experiences and a stronger business.”

The head of the country’s biggest retailer said companies face a choice between optimizing technology regardless of its impact on people, or a “more nuanced” approach that uses “technology to serve people and not the other way around.”

Keep reading here.—AV

Albertsons’s third quarter 2023 earnings beat analyst expectations, as the FTC deadline to rule on its proposed deal with Kroger looms.

The grocer’s net sales for the quarter were $18.6 billion, up from $18.2 million a year earlier, thanks in part to pharmacy sales. Identical sales rose 2.9%, while digital sales saw a 21% boost. Albertsons’s loyalty members increased 17% to 38.5 million.

Its gross margin dipped slightly to 28% from 28.2% in the year-ago quarter, which it attributed to growth in low-margin pharmacy operations and an increase in shrink. Net income was $361.4 million, down from $375.5 million a year earlier.

The grocer’s retail media arm, Albertsons Media Collective, this week announced a partnership with commerce media company Criteo. The partnership will power Albertsons’s sponsored ad offerings, according to Grocery Dive, and allow Criteo to grow into other advertising formats such as commerce display and sponsored video.

Keep reading here.—EC