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Business Wire
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Little Planet and Once Upon a Farm Debut a Peach-Perfect Summer Collab
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Little Planet, Carter's, Inc.'s (NYSE: CRI) most sustainable brand for babies and children, and Once Upon a Farm, a leading childhood nutrition company and makers of farm-fresh, organic snacks and meals, are bringing something peach-perfect to families everywhere. The two brands are teaming up for the first time to launch a limited-time offering 'It's All Peachy'—a summer-ready pairing designed to make everyday moments a little sweeter with both children and the planet in mind. With a shared commitment to organic materials and family wellness, Little Planet and Once Upon a Farm are reintroducing two fan-favorite products in one limited-time offering. The collaboration features Little Planet's beloved peach-print apparel and Once Upon a Farm's beloved Peach Fruit & Veggie Blend and Peach Sunrise Dairy-Free Smoothie—crafted with simple, farm-fresh ingredients. 'We're excited to share our peach print alongside a like-minded brand that shares our commitment to sustainability,' said Kendra Krugman, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Creative & Growth Officer at Carter's, Inc. 'This collaboration reflects our belief that better-for-you choices, whether in what your child wears or eats, should be simple, joyful, and made with care.' This limited time offer includes: Little Planet: GOTS-certified organic cotton Peach Bodysuit and Sleep & Play (available in newborn to 24M sizes) and Two-Piece Pajamas (available in newborn to 5T sizes) Once Upon a Farm Snack Bundles featuring their Peach Fruit & Veggie Blend and Peach Sunrise Dairy-Free Smoothie made with simple, farm-fresh ingredients families love 'At Once Upon a Farm, we believe that good nutrition and sustainability should go hand in hand,' said Jennifer Garner, Co-Founder of Once Upon a Farm. 'Partnering with Little Planet felt natural. They care about children and the planet just as much as we do. Together, we're offering something fun, feel-good, and a little peachy that parents can truly feel great about.' Grab the pairing while it's ripe at To learn more about Little Planet and Once Upon a Farm, visit and and follow along @littleplanet and @onceuponafarm. About Carter's, Inc. Carter's, Inc. is the largest branded marketer in North America of apparel exclusively for babies and young children. The Company owns the Carter's and OshKosh B'gosh brands, among the more recognized and trusted brands in the marketplace. These brands are sold through over 1,000 Company-operated stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico and online at and Carter's also is the largest supplier of young children's apparel to the largest retailers in North America. Its brands are sold in leading department stores, national chains, and specialty retailers domestically and internationally. The Company's Child of Mine brand is available at Walmart, its Just One You brand is available at Target, and its Simple Joys brand is available on Amazon. The Company also owns Little Planet, a brand focused on organic fabrics and sustainable materials, and Skip Hop, a global lifestyle brand for families with young children. Carter's is headquartered in Atlanta. Additional information may be found at About Once Upon a Farm At Once Upon a Farm, Farm-Fresh Tastes Grow Here™. We're on a greater mission in providing organic, crave-worthy, snacks and meals for children of all ages. Our delicious and thoughtful recipes are crafted with only the best organic ingredients – whole fruits and veggies picked, then cold-pressed (our pouches), freshly frozen (our meals) to perfection, refrigerated oat bars, and our new line of farm fresh tasting pantry snacks – to support growing kids at every stage and milestone. All products are organic, non-GMO project verified, contain no added sugar, and are free from artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives – just simple, real, nutritious food your entire family will love. For more information visit:
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Retail Traffic Is Carter's Profitability Challenge
Carter's Inc.'s pricing strategies for the second half of 2024 helped the company best fourth-quarter expectations, but retail traffic will continue to be a challenge in 2025. Following a high single-digit decline in U.S. retail comparable sales, Carter's invested $65 million in the business through $55 million in lower prices and $10 million in additional brand marketing. Lowering prices by $1 or $2 allowed Carter's to be more competitively priced relative to its competitors, said Richard F. Westenberger, the company's interim CEO, senior executive vice president and chief financial and operating officer. Former CEO Michael D. Casey retired on Jan. 7, and the company's board has initiated an external search for a permanent CEO. More from Sourcing Journal Consumers to Boycott Target, Walmart and Amazon in Feb. 28 'Economic Blackout' Two-Thirds of Consumers Believe Merchants' Product Descriptions Complicate Online Shopping Is 'Q-Commerce' the Next Retail Revolution in India? 'These actions drove a meaningful lift across several important retail performance metrics and contributed to stabilization of unit volume overall,' Westenberger said. He noted that Carter's core Baby and Toddler apparel offerings, which represent 80 percent of the total apparel business, remains the best performing and most consistent part of the assortment. 'After several years of declining share, we grew our share of both the Baby and Toddler markets in the U.S. in 2024,' Westenberger said. 'On style, our higher priced and elevated product offerings including Little Planet, PurelySoft and licensed product have continued to perform very well, and we believe these products are attracting a new segment of consumers to our business.' He also said that new personalization capabilities online in the past year are helping to drive incremental sales, as well as deepen relationships with its customers. The company also rebranded and relaunched it loyalty program last year, he added, noting that more than 90 percent of U.S. retail sales are through the loyalty program. For wholesale, Carter's is working with the largest retailers of children's apparel, a move that gives it access to the consumer shift to the mass channel. Westenberger said one of the challenges for 2025 will occur in the first half due to tougher comparisons. Because the company lowered prices in the second half of 2024, the back half comparisons for 2025 will be more favorable. He also said that while the company will keep an eye on pricing in the current retail environment, 'Continuing to lower prices is not envisioned to be a component of our longer-term strategy,' he emphasized. In general, the fundamental issue in retail is traffic, and Westenberger said Carter's 'principal issue really is driving traffic to the retail business.' And while exclusive brands allows Carter's to reach the mass customer, Westenberger said the goal is to improve the assortment and drive traffic back to the company's stores. The company said in November 2023 that plans to open 250 U.S. doors by 2027, a move expected to help grow sales by $250 million. Nearly 70 percent of children's apparel is purchased in stores and the doors also represent Carter's best source for new customer acquisition. While the fourth-quarter customer counts were up and the re-engagement with customers is 'critical' for long-term growth, Westenberger said those gains 'have come at a significant impact to our profitability.' And while competitive pricing is expected to continue, the CEO also said the company's primary focus is on 'enhancing our product assortments and improving our marketing initiatives, as well as other strategies to grow market share and improve profitability.' Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 28, 2024, fell 42.2 percent to $61.5 million, or $1.71 a diluted share, from net income of $106.5 million, or $2.90, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $2.39. Net sales rose 0.2 percent to $859.7 million from $857.9 million. Wall Street was expecting adjusted diluted EPS of $1.92 on revenue of $835.8 million. Westenberger said sales were lower to department store customers, a continuing trend in that distribution channel. And because of its low excess inventory position for the year, that led to lower sales to the off-price channel, which was down over 50 percent in 2024. Westenberger said operating margin is over 20 percent in the fourth quarter, making wholesale a 'very profitable part of our business.' The wholesale business includes the exclusive brands Just One You, Child of Mine, and Simple Joys that were developed for Target, Walmart, and Amazon, respectively. For the year, net income was down 20.2 percent to $185.5 million, or $5.12 a diluted share, from $232.5 million, or $6.24, in 2023. Net sales slipped 3.4 percent to $2.84 billion from $2.95 billion. Looking ahead, the company forecasted adjusted EPS of $3.20 to $3.80 for Fiscal Year 2025 on a net sales projection range of $2.78 billion to $2.86 billion. As for its Carter's and OshKosh B'gosh brands, Kendra D. Krugman, Carter's senior executive vice president and chief creative and growth officer, she said the company will increase its investment in trend-forward assortment, as well as additional product flow to help drive frequency and increase customer spend. For spring, the collections will feature new fabrications and trim details. Examples include its easy-to-wear linen-line fabric and crochet sweater knits. She said the company's multi-brand customers spend 3.5 times more per year and a single-brand customer. 'In 2025, we expect our new brands and line extensions to grow nearly 40 percent in retail sales versus 2024,' Krugman said. She added that included in that growth is its PurelySoft collection, where the ultra-soft, super-stretchy premium fabric is a favorite among customers. In addition, Little Planet achieved double-digit sales comps in 2024. Noting the company's ability to build and launch brands, Krugman said Carter's plans to launch a brand—developed with the toddler in mind—in early fall through its digital channels and select stores. As for its kids business, Krugman said this segment underperformed the total business, in part due to a reduction its the assortment. The company is adjusting its inventory position for the 4-to-14 size range for the back half of 2025, and is planning depth across categories that include fashion denim, girls' tops and active, plus its licensed properties. Fashion denim as a category saw a surge for kids last fall for back-to-school. 'The kid segment remains an important part of the business. It represents the largest segment of the market we compete in and helps us to better meet the needs of our multi-child customer,' she said. Helping the company with its execution of product strategies is an AI-enabled allocation tool, which will get the 'right product assortment into the right stores at the right time,' Krugman said. Sign in to access your portfolio
