Weekly Insights February 5, 2016

Executive Summary

• This week, the FBIC Global Retail & Technology team attended the Brand & Retail Selection Day held by Silicon Valley–based accelerator Plug and Play. We saw presentations from many innovative startups.
• Frye redesigned its logo, and the brand now sports a new tagline, “The original craftsmen of American footwear.” The updated branding follows the opening of three new stores in 2015, bringing the freestanding store total to eight. Another three store openings are planned for 2016.
• British supermarket Sainsbury’s has agreed to buy Argos-owner Home Retail Group for approximately £1.3 billion (US$1.9 billion). Once the deal is completed, Home Retail Group shareholders will own nearly 12% of the combined group shares.
• The NDP Group reports that sales of fitness trackers doubled in just a year, with sales reaching $1.46 billion in 2015, up from $692 million the previous year. Fitbit remained the top fitness tracker brand in 2015, accounting for 79% of sales.