In a joint statement on the evening of October 3, the ILA and USMX reached a tentative agreement on wages and extended the group’s “Master Contract” until January 15, 2025, when they will return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues.

In 2023, consumers completed over 50 percent of their Holiday shopping before Thanksgiving. However, the peak Holiday period (after Cyber Monday through Christmas Eve) was still the busiest, with 36 percent of shopping. This year that period will only have 27 days.

Gartner suggests that 32 percent of consumers will begin holiday shopping between July and October and only 14 percent of U.S. consumers plan to spend more year-over-year, with 21 percent of consumers reducing their holiday spending.

Bain said a potential rate cut this week could spur consumer confidence and sales may also benefit as some consumers feel wealthier from rising disposable income and strong stock market gains this year. Deloitte and Bain both see e-commerce up in the high single digits for Holiday 2024 versus Holiday 2023.

The actions would also protect U.S. textile and apparel manufacturers, noting the critical role they play in the U.S. defense industrial base and its support of hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the United States.

Oxford Industries, Inc., the parent company of Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer and Johnny Was, continued progress on long-term strategic goals in Q2, but the company also said it fell short of delivering on its near-term financial targets.

With some major negative events behind it, Academy looks to new store growth as the primary sales driver. The stores opened in 2022 are all comping postive despite the challenging economic backdrop and remain pleased with the 2023 and 2024 new stores.