One thing was clear with Prada’s recent and newsworthy acquisition of Versace from Capri Holdings: Italian luxury is coming together to bolster its position in the global luxury market.

With Versace coming back home to Italian ownership, Prada hopes to gain access to a broader range of consumers, capturing both the understated and the extravagant fashion markets Versace is known for. Additionally, the retailer stands to benefit from Versace's strong presence in North America—accounting for close to 31% of revenue for Capri Holdings in 2025’s third fiscal quarter .

“Versace brings boldness and cultural energy; Prada offers refinement and modern minimalism,” Jhara Valentini, founder of Valentini Media Group, a consulting firm that works with a number of luxury brands, told Retail Brew via email. “Together, they allow the group to engage different consumer mindsets and aesthetic preferences—without compromising what makes each brand distinctive.

“It’s likely that both brands will benefit from shared infrastructure—across media, data, digital tools, and supply chain—while maintaining creative independence,” she added.

Darpan Seth, CEO of Nextuple, an omnichannel order management advisory and technology firm, agreed, adding that while Prada will likely gain a brand with global recognition, Versace will benefit from Prada’s financial strength and operational rigor.

Keep reading here.—JS

Female teens’ annual beauty spending grew 10% year over year to a peak of $374, but how and where they’re spending could be shifting, according to Piper Sandler’s semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey.

The survey, polling 6,455 teens across 43 states, found that Sephora remained in the top spot as a beauty destination for female teens, while Ulta and Target lost share. The gap between Ulta and Sephora grew from 9 percentage points in the fall to 12 percentage points in the spring, per Piper Sandler, with Sephora gaining 2 percentage points of share since the fall. Target fell to the fourth-ranked spot, surpassed by Bath & Body Works, which made it into the top 10 for the first time in over six years. Piper Sandler noted that the combined share of Ulta and Target represent 33% of female shoppers’ vote, down 7 percentage points from its last survey and 8 percentage points year over year.

Keep reading here.—EC

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Catherine Porter is chief business officer at identity verification company Prove Identity.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I am the chief business officer at Prove Identity, an identity verification and authentication platform for businesses that mitigates fraud and reduces account friction while enhancing the customer experience. Our products offer solutions for verifying customer identity, billing, and shipping, spanning across the entire commerce workflow, including onboarding and signup, streamlining checkout processes, and curating a strong pipeline of trusted customers. In my role, I expand Prove’s presence into new verticals, and lead the company as we develop identity verification and authentication solutions to tackle the sophisticated threats and scams emerging from the increase in AI.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? I am fluent in Japanese and spent 14 years working in and with companies in Japan. Beyond my LinkedIn profile, my superpower is making the complicated simple, and the impossible scalable. I have taken on very early-stage, complex problems for companies and shipped solutions, markets, and whole ecosystems over and over again because I’m an optimist at heart, and believe deeply in building global teams that are wired to get to a “yes” for launching and scaling big ideas.

Keep reading here.—EC

On April 29, we are bringing together the brightest minds in data-driven retail, including Jeff Lee, co-founder and CEO of DIBS Beauty. Hear how he’s leveraging AI, first-party data, and real-time analytics to drive personalized shopping experiences and fuel brand growth. Don’t miss this inside look at what’s working now in beauty retail—and beyond. Register now.