Key Takeaways:
- Carter’s is launching its first major brand overhaul in about 26 years, built on nearly a year of research into how Gen Z and millennial parents differ from previous generations.
- The refresh centers on a “Watch Them Glow” creative platform, a new Stellar Sleep Shop and community initiatives called Light Makers and the Glow Grant, alongside an updated logo inspired in part by the company’s original 19th century script.
- The rebrand lands as recently flagged growing consumer resistance to pricing; value will play an important role in the broader marketing overhaul.
Carter’s is overhauling its brand identity for the first time in roughly 26 years, rolling out a new logo, an updated visual identity and a marketing platform called “Watch Them Glow” that the company says reflects how younger parents think about raising kids differently than previous generations did.
The 161-year-old children’s apparel company, which also owns the Skip Hop and OshKosh B’gosh brands, spent nearly a year researching the shift, according to Sarah Crockett, Chief Marketing Officer at Carter’s. “The last time we did something of this scale was probably back in 2000,” Crockett said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. A lot has changed over those 26 years.
“We have an entirely new generation of parents and caregivers who have, as every generation does, some differences from the generation before,” Crockett said.
The rebrand touches nearly every visible piece of the Carter’s business, from packaging and store displays to a new sleepwear-focused shop concept.
Sarah Crockett, Chief Marketing Officer, Carter’s. Photo: Carter’s.
How Millennial and Gen Z Parents are Different
Crockett said the company’s research combined internal customer surveys, competitive analysis and what she called “deep dives into our heritage,” including a review of Carter’s visual history.
That heritage review directly shaped the new logo, which Crockett said draws on the brand’s original scripted mark. “It was inspired by the scripted font, by the sweeping T, and we brought some of that back into the fold to build more character in,” she said.
The research also pointed to a generational shift in how parents approach dressing and raising their kids. Â According to Pew Research Center, 44% of U.S. parents report that they intend to raise their children differently than they were. They value accepting their kids for who they are and encouraging them to forge their own path.
Crockett contrasted her own generation’s mindset with that of today’s parents. “A lot of our motivation was my personal aesthetic, my personal activities. I’m going to impart [those] upon my child, and that is going to be a reflection of me in the household,” she said of past generations. “Today’s parents are all about celebrating that self-expression, that individuality, the potential that every child has.”
Crockett said the research took the better part of a year to complete, wrapping up around the brand’s September launch window.
Photo: Carter’s.
How Customers Will Experience the Refreshed Approach
Carter’s is planning a phased rollout across its roughly 1,000 North American stores and 20,000 wholesale and retail touch points rather than a single, one-time relaunch, Crockett said.
The first visible change is a new Stellar Sleep Shop concept inside Carter’s stores, timed to the holiday season.
“Carter’s is sort of famous for those family matching pajamas, and you’ve got a ton of variety in that within the Carter’s brand,” Crockett said. “So we’re heroing the Stellar Sleep Shop through the lens of this Watch Them Glow creative platform.”
Beyond retail changes, Carter’s is expanding community partnerships tied to a company commitment it calls “let every child’s life shine.” That includes a new digital creator program called Light Makers and an associated Glow Grant program, which Crockett said will let Carter’s provide additional support to community efforts the company highlights.
Nostalgia plays a visible role in the campaign’s early rollout. Crockett pointed to Carter’s Instagram account, where the company has been sharing archival brand imagery ahead of a September 15 push. “We’re heroing those intentionally because those are going to connect directly to our future,” she said.
Photo: Carter’s.
Balancing Legacy, a Fresh Identity and Value
Crockett said values such as consumer trust were of the utmost importance to retain as the company undergoes the shift.
“We have earned trust with our families, and trust is the number one most important thing for us in this category,” she said. “We’ve maintained significant connections to our consumer bases and continue to be pretty top of mind within this category of our consumers. And the reason for that top of mind nature is the trust.”
The rebrand also arrives as Carter’s leans harder on value messaging, a theme that took on new weight after the company’s most recent earnings call in July. Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Richard Westenberger said broader market data showed “some price resistance from consumers with an accompanying loss of unit velocity,” prompting the company to “plan for a more value-conscious consumer” in its back-half outlook. Chief Retail and Digital Officer Allison Peterson added that the quarter saw higher clearance activity tied to softer performance in select seasonal products, which weighed on both pricing and gross margin.
“Value does not just mean the lowest price,” Crockett said. “Value is the combination of style, quality and price. Am I getting the best thing for the dollars that I’m spending?”
How Has Carter’s Been Performing?
The rebrand comes as Carter’s works through a multiyear cost-cutting plan. In October 2025, the company said it would close approximately 150 underperforming North American stores at lease expiration over three years, an increase from a previously disclosed target of 100 closures, alongside a reduction of about 300 corporate office positions. By the fiscal 2026 second quarter, that plan was visibly underway. Carter’s ended the quarter with 1,042 total stores, down from 1,062 at the end of the first quarter, a net reduction of 20 stores driven primarily by U.S. closures. The U.S. store count fell to 779 from 798 over that period.
The rebrand is not connected to business pressure, Crockett said. “This is much more about the generational change that the research highlighted for us,” she said.
Carter’s U.S. retail comparable sales rose 5.1% in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, marking a fifth consecutive quarter of growth, and ecommerce comp sales grew by double digits for a fourth straight quarter. The company also received $132 million, $100 million after tax, in recovered tariffs and interest, lifting total liquidity to $1.2 billion. Carter’s narrowed its full-year net sales outlook to 2% to 3% growth, down from a previously guided low to mid-single-digit range, citing softer wholesale demand and a moderated pricing environment.
Chief Executive Officer and President Sharon Price John acknowledged the company adjusted some pricing plans during the quarter in response to shopper pushback. “As we’re responding to the marketplace, we did modify some of that in certain sectors of the business, not across the board,” she told analysts. “This is a very scalped approach.”
Carter’s plans to track the rebrand’s impact on two timelines, according to Crockett: short-term shifts at the campaign and product-category level, and longer-term changes in brand consideration among younger parents.
Crockett said she views the rebrand as a long-term investment in the company’s relationship with a new generation of parents.
“It’s a really exciting opportunity to take 161 years of our past and say how is this providing us with these incredible ingredients to connect with families and caregivers of the future and the present,” she said. “That’s going to be a pretty remarkable chapter for us, and I’m excited about it.”
