Danni Santana

Business Insider • April 16th, 2023

'Quiet luxury' is back for the first time since the Great Recession. Here's what it is and what brands stand to benefit.

Quiet luxury is one of 2023's biggest trends, and also one of the hardest to describe.

It's one of those "you'll know it when you see it" trends. Quiet luxury is soft and tactile, it's beige and gray, and as Vogue put it, "it's less austere than minimalism but more polished than 'normcore.'"

Business Insider • April 6th, 2023

I watched Ben Affleck's new 'Air' movie with 72 Nike veterans. Here's what they said the movie got right and what it got wrong about the race to sign Michael Jordan.

Early in "Air," the new Ben Affleck-directed movie about how Nike signed Michael Jordan, Nike employee Sonny Vaccaro hops on an airplane, against the orders of Jordan's agent, and flies to North Carolina to meet the basketball star's family.

Business Insider • March 4th, 2023

Nike and Adidas veterans reveal how to get your foot in the door in the sneaker industry

When D'Wayne Edwards worked as the design director for Nike's Jordan brand, aspiring designers would send him job applications in hand-carved wooden boxes. Others sent him beautifully bound leather portfolios.

"If you put a lot of effort into the outside, the inside better live up to the outside," Edwards said.

Business Insider • February 25th, 2023

A new documentary on Subway and Jared Fogle couldn't come at a worse time

After years of denying rumors of a company sale, Subway has finally admitted that it is looking for a buyer.

The chain must think the timing is right. CEO John Chidsey, a former chief executive of Burger King, came to Subway in late 2019 to turnaround the company – and possibly set the chain up for sale, according to insiders. Chidsey previously spearheaded Burger King's sale to 3G Capital in 2010.

Under his watch, the chain has made menu and restaurant upgrades, such as Subway stores adding meat slicers in the coming months. Subway recently reported its second consecutive year of record sales, despite diminishing store counts and franchisee infighting.

Business Insider • January 24th, 2023

It's a terrible time to be a sneaker reseller

The last few years have seen the spectacular rise and the incredible fall of the sneaker reseller, a side hustle that flourished during the height of the pandemic.

Business Insider • May 6th, 2022

The Chermin Group, Bob Iger, and eBay just poured $263 million into Funko as the tiny collectibles become big business for investors and resellers

On May 5th, The Chernin Group announced a $263 million investment into toymaker Funko, Inc., for a 25% stake. The investment consortium included eBay, Bob Iger, and Rich Paul. Iger, the former CEO of Disney, and Peter Cher.

Business Insider • July 2nd, 2021

'Privileged white wellness': Lululemon corporate employees speak out on the culture of racial insensitivity

In spring 2020, days after the murder of George Floyd, a high-level Lululemon manager told a team of designers and copywriters she wanted to put "all lives matter" at the top of Lululemon's website.

Amid Black Lives Matter demonstrations across North America, Lululemon had been scrambling in its Vancouver, British Columbia, headquarters to craft a response to the events suddenly dominating the news cycle.

Over the course of the afternoon on June 1, the company put together a task force to deve

Business Insider • February 9th, 2022

Why sneaker reselling, the get-rich-quick side hustle, is losing its hype and its high returns

Sneaker reselling has grown in popularity over the past few years, spurred on by brands such as Nike and Yeezy dropping a limited supply and the rise of resale sites such as StockX. Then the pandemic hit, a

Business Insider • May 16th, 2022

Lady Gaga's Haus makeup launch on Amazon bombed and triggered a 'mass exodus' of talent, former employees say. Now it's pinning its hopes on its Sephora debut.

In March 2021, Ben Jones, the CEO of Lady Gaga's beauty brand, Haus Laboratories, made an emotional appeal to staff in a companywide Zoom meeting.

At the time, Haus was losing top talent at an alarming rate after a disappo

Business Insider • June 29th, 2022

DTC darling Allbirds is now trading under $5 as investors demand profits. Analysts say to have any chance to compete with Nike and Adidas, it'll have to expand beyond those 'iconic' fuzzy sneakers.

When the sustainably minded sneaker company Allbirds debuted on the Nasdaq in November 2021, its share price soared 90%, briefly valuing the buzzy direct-to-consumer brand at over $4 billion.

The Allbirds initial public offer

Business Insider • July 26th, 2022

The DTC model is failing to produce profits, and brands like Glossier are rushing to partner with retailers like Sephora after years of shunning them

Ten years ago, emerging digitally native brands like Dollar Shave Club wouldn't have dreamed of selling wholesale.

The novel idea of brands selling their products directly to consumers online and "cutting out the middleman" seemed to make financial sense. Without a retail partner cutting into profit margins, b

Business Insider • September 27th, 2022

Nike is set to open as many as 200 new stores and is hiring for real estate and retail jobs as it doubles down on its criticized DTC plan

Nike is accelerating its brick-and-mortar strategy as part of its evolving direct-to-consumer push, dubbed Consumer Direct Acceleration.

The strategy includes opening as many as 200 new stores in the US and Europe. The stores, which fo

Business Insider • March 18th, 2021

3 Airbnb Superhosts share the 3 secrets to making your listing stand out in the crowded vacation rental market as experts predict a surge in travel

Airbnb Superhosts earn a special designation on the home-sharing platform by being among the most successful and top-rated users.

But their livelihoods have looked a little bit different during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Business Insider • September 8th, 2022

8 Impossible Foods execs have left this year as the company delays IPO under new CEO Peter McGuinness

Impossible Foods has lost several executives this year, including some after newly appointed CEO Peter McGuinness took over in April.

Among the senior leaders who have left is Steve Turner, who served as chief experience officer.

Business Insider • July 4th, 2022

These are the 34 retail-technology power players revolutionizing how brands operate and customers buy

As shoppers across every sector of retail insist on new ways of buying, Insider's list recognizes the innovative leaders in retail technology.

Business Insider • November 29th, 2022

29 foodtech power players of 2022 revolutionizing how restaurants operate and deliver amid a looming recession

The foodtech sector grew at a fast clip in the pandemic's first year as restaurants turned to online-ordering tools, virtual brands, and ghost kitchens to reach consumers. But sunny skies turned stormy in 2022 as the restaurant industry faced headwinds tied to market volatility, a labor shortage, and record inflation.

Business Insider • November 9th, 2021

Meet 33 tech power players revolutionizing how restaurants operate and diners eat

The pandemic proved that the most agile and digital-ready restaurants will survive. Insider's list recognizes the innovative leaders in the industry.

Business Insider • December 2nd, 2020

5 retailers not named Amazon or Walmart that have quietly flourished during the pandemic by growing e-commerce, staff size, and total store footprint

In the world of retail, 2020 has proved to be an especially tough year for independents and regional chains, as big-box stores and e-commerce juggernauts thrive under increased demand from shoppers stocking up on products at home during the pandemic.