🌟 Hey there, dear readers! It's that time of the week again when we gather around to catch up on the latest and greatest in the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) world. 🚀

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Welcome back to another exciting edition of our DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) Insider newsletter. 📰 Our mission: to serve you the freshest news and insights straight from the heart of the DTC universe. 💡 With every update, we're arming you with the knowledge to be the smartest one in the room. 🤓

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Swander Pace Capital Partners with Inovata Foods

27 June, 2024, Business Wire

TILLSONBURG, Ontario & EDMONTON, Alberta—Swander Pace Capital (SPC), a leading private equity firm, has announced its investment in Inovata Foods Corp., a top manufacturer of private label frozen entrées. Founded by Steve and Lisa Parsons in 1989, Inovata operates two facilities in Canada, serving customers in the U.S. and Canada.

Tyler Matlock, Managing Director at SPC, expressed excitement about the partnership, emphasizing SPC's experience in private label and food manufacturing to foster Inovata’s growth. Steve Parsons, Founder of Inovata Foods, highlighted SPC’s proven track record and shared values, confident in their support for expansion plans.

Chad Parsons, CEO of Inovata Foods, praised their employees' dedication to quality, expecting the SPC partnership to accelerate execution efforts. This investment marks SPC’s 10th platform investment in Canada, underlining its expertise in North American food manufacturing.

LVMH Buys High-End Swiss Clock Manufacturer L’Epée 1839

25 June, 2024, Business of Fashion

LVMH, the luxury giant, is set to acquire Swiza SA, the owner of high-end Swiss clockmaker L’Epée 1839 🕰️. This acquisition, announced on Tuesday, adds a prestigious yet niche brand to LVMH's watchmaking division, led by Frédéric Arnault, son of CEO Bernard Arnault. L’Epée is one of the few remaining high-end clockmakers in Switzerland, known for its unique and extravagant designs, like clocks shaped as spiders, robots, and rockets 🚀, often in collaboration with MB&F. Despite a revival in mechanical wristwatches during the pandemic, high-end clocks have struggled to attract wealthy buyers. This strategic move by LVMH aims to bolster its diverse portfolio, which already includes notable watch brands such as Tag Heuer, Hublot, and Zenith ⌚. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Chinese Liquor Makers Endeavour To Give Westerners A Taste For Baijiu

25 June 2024, Business of Fashion

Chinese baijiu makers are spicing up their strategies to win over Western cocktail lovers in New York, Los Angeles, and London as domestic sales slow down. While still popular in China, growth is not as explosive as before, with younger generations exploring other options. 🌐🍹

Top producers like Kweichow Moutai are now targeting Western markets, where baijiu is relatively unknown. This colourless liquor, often distilled from sorghum and boasting a high alcohol content (40%-60%), has a unique taste that varies by region—sometimes compared to vodka or even soy sauce. 🥃

To capture new audiences, companies like Shede Spirits are tweaking their flavors and hosting tasting sessions, hoping to entice non-Chinese drinkers. This comes as Western brands like Pernod Ricard and Diageo make inroads into the Chinese market with Irish and Scotch whiskies. 🌍🥂

Under Armour To Pay $434m To Settle Lawsuit That Claimed Kevin Plank Misled Investors

24 June 2024, Retail Dive

Under Armour has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit from 2017 by paying $434 million to shareholders who bought stock between September 16, 2015, and November 1, 2019. This settlement, pending court approval, does not admit any wrongdoing by the company. As part of the agreement, Under Armour will keep its CEO and chair roles separate for at least three years and introduce a performance-based condition for executive stock benefits.

The settlement will be funded with cash on hand and potentially a portion of the company’s $1.1 billion credit facility, reducing cash reserves from $860 million to around $500 million by the fiscal year-end. 💸

Under Armour is simultaneously focusing on a significant turnaround, including a marketing overhaul, launching a loyalty program, and reducing SKUs by 25%. This is amidst executive shakeups, with founder Kevin Plank recently resuming the CEO role.

🛍️ Under Armour aims to move past this lawsuit and refocus on its strategic priorities.

GPT-4o Reversed the Trend for OpenAI and Delivered Its Biggest Month of Revenue

24 June 2024, Apps Figures

🚀 May marked a record-breaking month for ChatGPT's mobile app, reversing a downward trend in downloads and hitting a new revenue milestone! 🎉 Thanks to OpenAI's latest model, GPT-4o, the app saw a remarkable surge.

📈 Downloads had been falling since November, with a 26% drop by April. However, May saw a sharp rebound from 13.9M in April to 18.7M, nearly matching November's peak.

💰 Revenue also soared, increasing by $5.8M to a total of $20.3M, with the majority coming from the App Store. This marks only the fifth time revenue growth has exceeded 40% since the app's launch. The US led the revenue surge, contributing over 34%.

🌍 While the app's success is primarily US-based, there's potential for growth internationally. GPT-4o’s impressive capabilities have set a new standard for generative AI, hinting at a future filled with even more specialized tools.

App Intelligence provides these insights, offering access to download and revenue estimates, and more. Journalists can access this data for free through the Appfigures for Journalists program.

Weekly Recap! 🔙✨

Do you want to know what we published last week?

1. Millennial Spending Habits: Budget-Minded, Socially Conscious 📈🤩

2. AI Marketing Powerhouse (Cost Cuts + Creativity)✨

3. Earning Customer Trust: The Key to Long-Term Revenue and Loyalty✨

Stay tuned and hit subscribe @How-to-ecommerce for more such content…

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As we wrap up this edition of our newsletter, we hope you found the blend of news and insights as invigorating as we did. The world of DTC and beyond continues to evolve, and staying informed is the key to success. Keep those entrepreneurial spirits high, and remember, we're here to keep you ahead of the game.  🚀🌟📰 

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