In Episode 98 of This Week in E-Commerce, Mal Chia and Alex Ross return fresh from the Online Retailer Conference to unpack the most fascinating stories across retail, brand partnerships, AI commerce, and luxury’s crumbling facade.
From the $150M acquisition of TikTok Shop darling Phleur, to LVMH’s luxury fall from grace, to the rise of ChatGPT-powered shopping, this episode is full of high-impact insights. Mal and Alex also explore the dangers of building in public, influencer fallouts, and how fandom-fueled collabs are rewriting the rules of product drops.
🔑 Key Topics:
🛍️ TikTok Shop’s First Big Exit
Fleur, a beauty brand born on TikTok, acquired by TSG Consumer.
Launched in 2022, now doing $150M in annual retail sales.
What it tells us about social-first commerce and marketing-led brand growth.
📉 LVMH’s Luxury Slump
Fashion and leather goods down 9.2% YoY.
Ongoing issues: data breach, labour scandal, and luxury goods used for money laundering.
Has the dream lost its magic—and its moral compass?
🧠 ChatGPT Checkout & Discovery
The future of shopping: ask, recommend, buy—all without visiting a store.
What this means for product data, storytelling, and discoverability.
Will this bring the magic back to online retail, or just recreate the ad-driven mess of Google?
🎮 Fandom x Collab = $200M in One Day
Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering sells $200M in a single day.
Mal breaks down the power of licensing and superfans.
Why niche + nostalgia might be the most underrated sales combo in ecomm.
🤝 When Partnerships Go Bad
The fallout between influencer Sarah’s Day and fragrance brand Who Is Elijah.
Why founder/influencer alignment matters—and what to do when the public gets involved.
Lessons from The Daily Edited and other brand-influencer blowups.
