Loyalty360 Daily Reads: Shein and Forever 21 Join Forces, The Home Depot Launches Tool for New Homeowners, Marriott Launches India’s First-Ever Co-Branded Hotel Credit Card

Shein, Forever 21 Strike Partnership Providing Fans with Improved Shopping Experience 

Shein, the popular online apparel brand, has partnered with long-time rival, Forever 21, to provide shared fans with a better shopping experience. Forever 21 merchandise will now be available on Shein’s website. Eventually, Shein may operate in Forever 21 stores across the country. In the deal, Shein is acquiring roughly one-third of Forever 21’s operator, Sparc Group. Sparc, in turn, is taking a minority stake in Shein, which was valued at $66 billion in a funding round earlier this year.  

For Shein, the deal gives it access to a brand that can offer physical convenience and the necessary manufacturing for their clothes and accessories. Shein’s Executive Vice Chairman Donald Tang said that as the company expands, it needs to bring in more third-party brands. “We can’t make everything we sell,” he said. 

Forever 21 will gain access to Shein’s 150 million customers, giving it a wider platform to reboot since it was bought out of bankruptcy in 2020. The arrangement could also allow customers to return items ordered from Shein at Forever 21’s stores. The brand has 560 stores worldwide, with 414 in the U.S. 

 

The Home Depot Launches New Homeowners Hub to Support Young Homeowners, DIYers 

The Home Depot® launched a New Homeowners Hub to equip the next generation of current and future first-time homeowners with valuable resources including DIY guides, product recommendations, design inspiration and more. 

According to a new survey conducted by The Home Depot in partnership with Morning Consult, home ownership is one of the most stressful milestones young people face today. Over half of millennials (53%) report worries about purchasing their first home, along with starting a family (57%), even more than career advancement (52%). With these stressors, helpful content to point young people in the right direction is essential to greater customer satisfaction. 

Achieving the milestone of homeownership is only the first challenge for young folks. When looking at the need to do renovations or home improvements, millennials reported that home maintenance (74%) and home improvement projects (68%) are the most stressful aspects of homeownership. 

To help alleviate the stresses of homeownership, The Home Depot® has invested in providing young homeowners with the tools they need to make their home renovations easier. 

"Our research has shown that lack of proper knowledge, tools and time were the top barriers for millennials navigating home improvement projects, which is especially stressful for a generation of current and soon-to-be first-time homeowners," said Molly Battin, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at The Home Depot. "Helping homeowners complete projects is part of our DNA, so it was a natural move to create an online resource designed to empower our customers with everything they need to confidently turn their first house into a home." 

From moving checklists to project guides, and virtual workshops to design inspiration, the online hub brings The Home Depot's expertise directly to customers. The virtual workshops provide expert, step-by-step guidance on projects like how to paint a room, replace light fixtures, install a faucet, or replace a garbage disposal. 

For more information on the New Homeowners Hub, including tool and truck rental programs and home services details, visit: https://www.homedepot.com/a/new-homeowners


Marriott Launches India’s First-Ever Co-Branded Hotel Credit Card 

Marriott International and HDFC have announced that they have entered into a partnership in India to introduce the country’s inaugural co-branded hotel credit card. With a presence of 145 hotels across 41 cities and representing 16 distinct brands within India, Marriott stands as the largest hospitality entity in the nation, boasting the highest inventory of rooms.

Marriott Bonvoy, the hospitality behemoth’s loyalty program that garners a remarkable 186 million members globally, has played a major role in the expansive number of benefits and services Indian loyalty members and world travelers can experience. 

Ranju Alex, the area vice president for South Asia at Marriott, said there are over 4.5 million Bonvoy members in India. The introduction of the co-branded credit card is anticipated to further add to this membership count. 

Alex affirmed, “Loyalty stands as our paramount driving force for attracting guests to our hotels. We strive to continually foster engagement with them, ensuring their loyalty within an intensely competitive landscape.” 

The credit card aims to leverage the aspirations of the emerging middle class within the nation, Alex remarked. 

Marriott Cards in Asia 

Marking the fourth Asian destination for this initiative, India joins the ranks of countries where Marriott has also launched co-branded credit cards. 

Prior to this, the company unveiled two cards in Korea, two in Japan, and three in China. 

The discussions regarding the co-branded credit card had commenced prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The launch was unavoidably postponed due to the pandemic’s disruptions. Had circumstances been different, the launch would likely have taken place in early 2022, according to Alex. 

John Toomey, the chief sales and marketing officer for Asia Pacific (excluding China) at Marriott International, shed light on the extended timeline of research that led to this collaboration. “The research on this probably started five to ten years ago,” he said to Skift. 

 
Read More on Trends, Updates, and Industry Leaders 

Recent Content

Membership and Pricing

Videos and podcasts

Membership and Pricing