Retail Brew // Morning Brew // Update

May 11, 2026

Let’s start the week with news that Carhartt, the workwear brand that seems to know no boundaries, is going in a surprising direction once again. In a collab, Ford is introducing a 2027 Super Duty Carhartt, a version of its F-250 pickup truck. Along with Carhartt branding throughout, the seats’ upholstery is inspired by Carhartt’s famous Duck Canvas. You might say they’re putting the “car” back in “Carhartt.”

In today’s edition:

—Erin Cabrey, Jennimai Nguyen, Alex Vuocolo

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR & TRENDS

It’s a beautiful K

Amorepacific

Amorepacific might not be as well known in North America as L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, or P&G, but K-beauty’s second wave is quickly carrying the 80-year-old Korean beauty giant’s brands overseas.

The company, founded in 1945 and home to South Korea’s first cosmetics lab, operates a slew K-beauty brands—including Laneige, COSRX, Innisfree, and Sulwhasoo—that’ve been FYP mainstays in the latest TikTok-driven rise in K-beauty popularity that pushed sales up 37% to $2 billion last year, per NielsenIQ.

With the size of its North American business nearly quadrupling in recent years, Amorepacific named Giovanni Valentini, a beauty veteran who spent more than 20 years at Unilever and L’Oréal on brands like Dove and Lancôme USA, as North American CEO in 2024. Its Americas business revenue jumped 20% YoY in 2025, and 11.2% in Q1 2026, the company reported last month.

While eye-catching ingredients like snail mucin and PDRN (which is derived from salmon sperm) have helped the company’s brands go viral, Amorepacific is working to convert the second wave into a movement through new brand launches, innovations, and retail partnerships with Amazon and Sephora.

Keep reading here.—EC

Sponsored By IBM

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MARKETING

Meat and greet

Photo collage combining an Archer billboard featuring the Mandalorian and Grogu, a still from an ad in which a yellow hand holding a Slim Jim is busting through a laptop screen, and a package of Jack Links Original flavor 3 Simple Ingredients beef jerky.

Morning Brew Inc., Photos: Archer, Slim Jim, Jack Link’s

Give Grogu a meat jerky snack, and you get a meat-cute for the ages.

In a recent 30-second spot for Archer Jerky and The Mandalorian and Grogu, Disney’s latest feature film installment in the Star Wars franchise, Baby Yoda’s penchant for snacking powers the marketing message for the individually packaged jerky. It’s part of a larger campaign from the meat-stick brand that also includes special packaging, Fandango rewards to help pay for a ticket, and sweepstakes that offer participants a chance to win a trip to the film’s LA premiere.

For Archer, it’s the biggest partnership the brand has secured to date, and for meatheads everywhere, it’s part of a larger meat-stick growth spurt.

Keep reading here on Marketing Brew.—JN

STORES

This week to me

Lpettet/Getty Images

Mother’s Day was yesterday, and hopefully you remembered to call and/or visit yours. If not, you may just want to buy her something nice to make up for it.

Apparently a number of people opened their wallets for the holiday. According to the National Retail Federation, shoppers were predicted to spend a record $38 billion, up from the previous record of $35.7 billion in 2023. The industry group said consumers made the holiday a priority, despite recent economic uncertainty.

Here’s what else is going on in retail this week:

In policy: US Customs and Border Protection last week said the first round of tariff refunds is expected to be sent out electronically on Tuesday. The announcement comes three months after the Supreme Court overturned the Trump administration's legal justification for drastically hiking tariff rates—a policy that continues to sow uncertainty across the global economy. In April, the agency opened a portal to process reimbursement requests from importers.

Keep reading here.—AV

Sponsored By Paradox, a Workday Company

Waiting just might cost you. That’s because the average hourly role takes about 16 days to fill—and that empty role is costing you $3k–$5k. The National Restaurant Association digs into this costly staffing problem and presents a solution that could make a huge difference: AI hiring tools. Zoom in on the data with their new report.

Level up your career with these resources from our sponsors!

Oh, baby! Could premium baby brands save a struggling superstore?

(Marketing) mix it up: How high-intent channels can help brands reach new customers

What does it take to turn video into a substantial revenue driver in the age of content?

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Network it out: Retail media networks are becoming more approachable to advertisers. (the Wall Street Journal)

Million dollar baby: Why Target is launching “baby boutiques” to take on rivals including Walmart. (CNBC)

Mind the Gap: How CEO Richard Dickson has helped Gap bounce back. (the New York Times)

So long, silos: If the customer experience journey spans retail, why is your AI stuck in silos? See how you can turn siloed AI agents into seamless customer journeys with three simple actions. Learn more.*

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☕ The K-beauty brand taking over North America