Wookies on Strike

Welcome to the B-Spot, your home for the e-com nerdy news. So Harley and Toby have gone and taken the Rebels, frozen them in carbonite, and left them on Jabba the Hutt's wall. The Ewoks currently are on strike after hitting problems with French shipping companies who are on strike. Unions, eh? Meanwhile, Luke and Lando have also hit a snag when they were detained by ICE during a brief stop in California where they were hunting the Green Fairies and Wookiees. Boba Fett will not be involved in the rescue either. He and his fellow bounty hunters have turned to dropshipping as tariffs on bounty hunting have gone out of control. Who will arm the rebels now? Stay tuned. Let's do the news. Story 1: Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald has pressed go on his new year, new me a little early and advised the world he'll be stepping down as CEO in January amid falling sales and struggles. The new search starts immediately. Hindsight, they say, is 20/20 vision. What then is foresight? Story 2: It is 12 weeks since Beyond Inc. have rebranded to Bed Bath Beyond and not rebranded since. We ask, is everything okay at HQ? Story 3: Target have opened a new concept store in Soho. Retail analysts are calling it their 'So what in Soho' phase. Story 4: The EU have literally just imposed a €3 customs duty on all low-value parcels arriving into the EU, block being applied from January 1st, 2026, in the bid to combat the challenges of de minimis. The measure is temporary until all 27 countries agree on a solution sometime before 2045. Trial of Italian crime gangs in fashion stalls in Italy have stalled amid sabotage fears. Wow, not even Italian gangs could solve the problem. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but doesn't stop you shopping at Walmart, it seems. Walmart stays statue-like on its stance regarding NFC-based payments. It left one customer particularly confused. Youthful shopper Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, was particularly vocal about it until he realized what his next challenge could be for unsuspecting wannabes. I F K Y K. Final story, and it's Walmart again. They're jumping on the extension bandwagon. Not happy to just extend Black November into Black December, they're extending Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve delivery hours are now going to be put into a slot called Walmart Delivery Spot, just because. There it is, folks. Doug McMillon has hinted at his next move and tells us where he might be going as he completes his tenure at Walmart. Doug said in an interview this week he is excited about having no meetings in his calendar. So there it is, folks. Doug is joining Shopify. I may look festive, but the office Christmas party is postponed till next week as there is a virus doing the rounds in the office. Even though I had it last week, it looks like I might be coming down with it again. I stopped in front of a mirror where I noticed some mistletoe hanging over my head. As you can imagine, one thing led to another, and now, well, I have strep throat. Though I am looking forward to sitting in the dark drinking 8% Belgian beers alone next week. Should be a good 'un. Might even top last year's Yuletide festivities. None of this would be possible without the constant support of our partners Omnisend this year, the email platform that officially is Vinny-proof. No needless jargon, no alphabet soup of nonsense, and not even an ask of me as their sponsored party. They have been delivering a return of $68 for every $1 invested this year. And I reach out to them for a partner meeting before Christmas. They told me to fuck off. It is past Black Friday. That was politely put to me before they followed up with a service rating email. How'd you like them apples? So there you have it, folks. That's 4 minutes. You're not getting back before Christmas this year. You've been watching The Beast Bar.