Nostalgic Tchotchkes to Luxury Juggernaut

On the cover of the latest issue of Adweek, you’ll find Gary Friedman, CEO of RH, formerly Restoration Hardware. While many brands in the category have been scrambling to avoid bankruptcy, RH has completely redefined itself. The transformation involved reinventing itself and as a luxury brand, opening new stores known as “galleries” and expanding into the travel and residential real estate markets—all of which blend home, store and hospitality. In the process, Friedman managed to turn the struggling retailer’s fate around: The brand’s revenue managed to grow despite the pandemic, and its stock price has multiplied more than 15 times over the past eight years.

The secrets to success: Discover 5 ways to unlock your brand’s potential.

Also in the latest issue of Adweek:

After saying he’d halt new downloads of TikTok after Sunday late last week unless parent company ByteDance reached a sale, President Trump said Saturday that he gave a deal with Oracle and Walmart his "blessing." The deal isn’t an outright sale, but a partnership with Oracle and Walmart to become a U.S. company. The move replaces a bid by Microsoft to acquire the company’s operations in the country.

Expanding in the U.S.: TikTok also said that it would build out its American operations, bringing 25,000 jobs across the country.

In what proved to be perhaps the most powerful and inspiring moment of Brandweek, marketing veteran Antonio Lucio—who’s led marketing at Facebook, HP, Visa, Kraft and PepsiCo—joined us on his last day in the industry to share his lessons learned. Every moment of his presentation was informative, heart-rending and wise beyond all expectations. Some of his most earnest and emotional thoughts included advice around leading people with humanity and empathy, and the importance of self-care under the weight of leadership.

Experience Lucio’s moving sendoff in its entirety.

More highlights from the final days of Brandweek:

It’s official: Halloween isn’t canceled. But it’s also not going to look like it usually does, and that could present problems for brands and retailers that rely on the revelries for revenue. Consumer spend is projected to see a drop, but those who do shop for Halloween are projected to spend more on decorations, candy and greeting cards this year—and they’ve started shopping earlier. Those that manage to succeed this year will be the ones that tap into consumer nostalgia, invite people to celebrate safely and take advantage of online shopping for the holiday.

Socially distanced activities: Consumers intend to decorate their homes, carve pumpkins and dress up their pets. But what’s the fate of the candy market?

After a months-long standoff between NBCUniversal and Roku, the companies struck a landmark deal Friday which will bring the mostly ad-supported streaming service Peacock onto Roku. NBCU had threatened to pull its TV Everywhere apps from the platform, but the deal ensures they will remain as well.

Inside the drama: The release of Peacock touched off negotiations around an earlier deal governing TV Everywhere’s availability on the platform that expired in August.

More of Today’s Top News & Highlights

Michael Bolton was moved to song—specifically a reimagined rendition of “When a Man Loves a Woman”—by Panera’s latest addition to its menu, Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese, in a new digital short video for the chain from Goodby Silverstein & Partners.

Register for Marketing in 2020: Getting to a Data Driven Mindset, a live virtual event on September 23, 3-4PM EST. Learn how marketers are embracing a data-driven mindset to drive better outcomes and gain share for their businesses. RSVP today.

The ads will run on the streaming service's popular aughts nostalgia stations.

Interactive digital campaign includes articles by sex educators and clips and stills from Michaela Coel’s series.

A decade after its launch, the Specialist line has a new look.

Daydreaming can only get you so far, says spot from Team One.

The collaboration has been a hit so far, but marketers should always weigh the risks.

The Homegate experience will welcome up to 1,000 fans on Zoom.