Today In Retail: Levi Strauss Steps Into Activewear; Walmart Incentivizes Vacation Delay

In today’s top retail news, Levi Strauss announced plans to acquire athletic wear company Beyond Yoga as consumers stay comfortable, while Walmart is giving warehouse workers weekly bonuses for putting off August vacations. Also, Perch is trying to optimize brands selling on Amazon in order to build the consumer products company of the future, and Carvana’s revenue skyrockets amid the hot used car market.

Levi Strauss Enters Activewear As Consumers Crave Casualization And Comfort

Levi Strauss & Co., famous for its denim jeans, is expanding its horizons to athletic apparel with the purchase of Beyond Yoga as consumers remain reluctant about fully returning to pre-pandemic fashion after months of comfort. Levi Strauss intends to expand Beyond Yoga’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) capabilities, including through brick-and-mortar retail, as well as further developing its wholesale footprint with “premium partners.”

Walmart Warehouse Workers Get Weekly Bonuses To Put Off Vacation

Warehouse workers at Walmart are choosing between getting weekly bonuses and taking vacations in August in a move aimed at helping the big box retailer prepare for the holiday shopping season at a time when the labor market is thin and the supply chain is compromised. Some Walmart warehouse workers have been offered $200 weekly bonuses, while others across the company’s 190 U.S. warehouses can bring in $500 a week, depending on their locations and job types.

Perch Looks To Build The Consumer Products Company Of The Future, One Amazon Seller At A Time

As eCommerce has accelerated over the past 18 months, an increasing number of investors have been looking for a way to get a piece of the action. One way they’re doing so is by investing in Perch, which acquires and operates brands that sell on Amazon in order to scale the brands’ operations and ultimately sell their products on markets other than Amazon. CEO Chris Bell told PYMNTS, though, that the goal is not to compete with Amazon — rather, he wants to optimize the currently fragmented supply chain of brands that feed the marketplace.

Carvana Revenue Up 200 Pct As Used Cars Remain Hot

Online car dealership Carvana’s revenue went up almost 200 percent in the second quarter of 2021 from the same time a year ago, and the firm sold more than 100,000 vehicles for the first time, a 96 percent increase from a year earlier. The financial results, which rocketed past analysts’ estimates, come as a global microchip shortage continues to hamper new vehicle production, pushing used car prices increasingly higher.