To close out the year, let’s a look back at our most-read stories of 2025, which offer a window into the topics and trends that drove conversations this year.
AI and tariffs of course dominated, but we can’t forget the wild rise of Labubu and Korean beauty, the resurgence of the mall, as well as retailers that came to the end of the road and retailers that made a comeback.
Top 5 Stories of the Year
- Athleisure Faceoff: How Lululemon, Vuori, Alo and Fabletics are Making Their Case to Consumers
- How Pop Mart is Turning Toys Like Labubu into the Next Drop Culture Phenomenon
- Malls’ New Success Strategy: Attracting Gen Zers Hungry for Social Contact
- What ChatGPT’s ‘Instant Checkout’ Offering Means for Retailers
- World Emblem Blunts Tariff Impacts with Manufacturing Shift to Dominican Republic
Most-Read News Items
News of store closures and openings was by far the most popular reading material this year with the Big Lots bankruptcy and subsequent acquisition garnering a lot of interest in particular:
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- Barnes & Noble Plans to Open 60 New Stores in 2025
- 175-Year-Old Catalog Retailer Hammacher Schlemmer Folds…but Hints at Return
- Variety Wholesalers to Reopen 219 Big Lots Stores by June
- CVS Plans to Close 271 Stores in 2025 as Part of Multi-Year Savings Plan
- Target Joins Roster of Retailers Scaling Back DEI in Effort to ‘Stay in Step with Evolving External Landscape’
- Goodwill Shutters Online Marketplace GoodwillFinds
- Ross Plans 90 New Stores This Year; Long-Term Goal is 3,600 Locations
- Toys ‘R’ Us to Expand U.S. Store Footprint with 10 New Flagships Plus 20 Holiday Pop-Ups
- Korean Beauty Platform Launches Nationwide at Ulta Beauty
- Ikea Plans 8 New Smaller-Format Stores in 2025
- Old Navy Signs Lease for New Flagship in NYC’s Herald Square
- Z Gallerie Relaunches with First Store Opening Next Month in Los Angeles
We look forward to continuing to serve you, the industry’s decision-makers, in 2026 by covering all the news, topics and stories that matter most to you!
