Retail Brew // Morning Brew // Update

February 05, 2026

It’s Thursday, and we’d like you to join us in a moment of silence for Minute Maid’s frozen juice concentrate. First introduced in 1946, the OG breakfast staple is being retired as Coca-Cola exits the frozen aisle to focus on fresh juices. Farewell to the oddly satisfying ritual of popping open a frosty can and watching it slowly melt into something drinkable.

In today’s edition:

—Jeena Sharma, Vidhi Choudhary

MARKETING

Just cause

From MAC's Makeup Services For All program.

MAC/The Trevor Project

When the federal government officially ended its funding for suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth last year, The Trevor Project lost $25 million in support almost overnight.

For the long-running nonprofit best known for its crisis hotline and mental health services, that cut meant shedding 200 staff members, including many crisis counselors.

Months later, MAC Cosmetics stepped in with a major assist. The beauty brand, which has partnered with The Trevor Project for three years, announced a $1 million grant from its Viva Glam Fund, financed entirely by sales of its Viva Glam products.

“They leaned in during what we called our emergency campaign, when we said we cannot just stop servicing this many people,” Deborah Barge, chief advancement officer at The Trevor Project, told Retail Brew. Thanks to the new grant, she said, the nonprofit can now “empower nearly 20,000 crisis contacts,” totaling nearly 44,000 minutes of crisis services.

“In the US, we estimate that every 45 seconds an LGBTQ+ youth attempts suicide,” Barge added. “So those minutes are critical to us serving our mission.”

Beyond financial support, MAC also launched “Makeup Services for All,” a gender-inclusive training program for MAC artists created in partnership with The Trevor Project to help them better serve gender-diverse customers.

MAC is hardly the only brand redirecting dollars toward social causes. Kenneth Cole is among the brands that continues to invest in mental health advocacy through the Mental Health Coalition, in addition to longtime efforts around HIV/AIDS, women’s rights, and gun-violence prevention.

Keep reading here.—JS

From The Crew

Can we trust AI?

As AI increasingly powers critical decisions in finance, infrastructure, and beyond, understanding how these systems arrive at their conclusions becomes crucial. While AI’s “black box” decision-making may be acceptable for simple tasks like email generation, it raises serious concerns for high-stakes applications, such as loan approvals or power grid management.

Want to understand the explainability challenge and why transparency is essential for responsible AI adoption? Download our in-depth guide to understand AI accountability and learn how to build transparency into your AI systems.

E-COMMERCE

Parting over

Saks Fifth Avenue

Luxury retailer Saks Global is closing out its e-commerce partnership with Amazon, after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.

Saks said the decision was based on low demand to join its Amazon store.

“The Saks on Amazon storefront saw limited brand participation,” Darcy Penick, president and chief commercial officer of Saks Global, wrote in an email to employees, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

“This decision follows a thorough review and reflects our goal of prioritizing the areas of our business that present the greatest opportunity for sustainable, long-term growth for our company and partners,” Penick added, per WSJ.

However, the dynamics of the equation looked shaky in January when Amazon went to court asking a federal judge to reject Saks Global’s bankruptcy filing so Amazon could recover its equity investment.

Keep reading here.—VC

Together With Acoustic

From possibility to performance. Heard of intent-driven marketing? It highlights real-time engagement that helps retailers influence conversion while shoppers are browsing, comparing, and deciding. Acoustic Connect makes it possible to act on these signals instantly across marketing channels—not when the moment’s already gone. See how it works.

STORES

Haute pause

Anna Kim, Photo: Adobe Stock

LVMH had somewhat of a turbulent start to the year after reporting underwhelming holiday numbers last month. While organic revenue in the fourth quarter was up 1% at $27.2 billion (flat from the previous year), full-year revenues dropped 1%.

LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault warned that 2026 “won’t be simple,” leading to a sharp drop (~8%) in its shares and rattling the luxury sector.

A cocktail of geopolitical factors, tariffs, and overall global uncertainty have weighed on performance and impacted consumers’ buying behaviors, Michael Prendergast, managing director in the consumer and retail group of Alvarez & Marsal, told Retail Brew.

“Macro luxury has been on an aggressive upward trend for somewhere between 10 to 15 years,” he said. “Bernard Arnault mentioned that they’ve doubled their business in 10 years. The engine in luxury has been operating at 120 miles an hour, and it has not been a bumpy ride. At some point, just from a macro economic standpoint, you’re bound to have some form of turbulence.”

An essential point of concern for analysts has been the decline in high-end fashion and handbags, long the conglomerate’s core revenue driver. But Prendergast said the slowdown doesn’t signal a deeper unraveling. Instead, he believes shoppers are briefly stepping back amid wider economic and geopolitical pressure.

Keep reading here.—JS

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

New beginnings: Inside Versace’s decision to tap Alaïa’s Pieter Mulier as its creative director. (Business of Fashion)

All that glitters: With silver prices skyrocketing, Pandora is pivoting to platinum. (the New York Times)

Rain or Shein: Why a French government minister foresees a “year of resistance” against Shein in France. (Reuters)

JOBS

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