Strategic pivots have been a defining theme for retailers this year because of the trade complexities and economic uncertainty surrounding the retail landscape. But they’re also one of those topics that resurfaces every few years. Retailers aren’t just tweaking strategies anymore; they’re fundamentally reinventing how they operate, where they compete, and what they sell. From fitness ring maker Oura expanding into new sales channels, to Build-A-Bear flipping the script on its omnichannel strategy, to Dibs Beauty taking an old-school approach to gathering customer data, here’s how brands at Retail Brew’s IRL event in July have been navigating change in 2025. Branching out: Healthcare ring company Oura had virtually no retail presence two years ago, but in 2025, it has expanded to 20 countries and now works with more than 40 retailers globally, according to Jeremiah Linder, Oura’s VP of global retail. “It’s required a lot of infrastructure building within our organization,” Linder said. “When I joined [the company] two and a half years ago, I was the first person to start this retail journey for the business. Things like demand planning functions weren’t really framed up in a really structured way. Systems around that really weren’t set up to support a retail infrastructure.” Unpacking SKUs: As tariff costs remain unpredictable to calculate, spice maker Burlap & Barrel split its product lineup into what its co-CEO and co-founder, Ori Zohar, described as “must never run out of stock” essentials with higher inventory levels, and created seasonal limited releases around those SKUs designed to create urgency and excitement—basically, “get it now [and] if you can’t get it, it’s going to be out of season,” Zohar said. Keep reading here.—VC | 
