Sportswear brand New Balance reported its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2025, the company said this week. The retailer achieved a record $9.2 billion in annual global sales, up 19% year over year. It was also the fifth consecutive year of global market share gains. New Balance CEO Joe Preston said in a press release Thursday that the footwear company saw record-setting results in almost every region, including more than 20% growth in North America and more than 30% growth in Europe. The retailer also opened an Asia Design Studio to unify its lifestyle apparel teams in the region.

Amcor has released the third edition of its European consumer claims research report. The report reveals that recyclability claims are the most influential on consumer purchase decisions. This coincides with a growing preference for paper-based packaging. The report shares Amcor’s 2025 findings, which builds on the company’s previous 2020 and 2022 research. Based on the responses of 3,351 consumers surveyed in the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, and Poland – the report provides brands with valuable insight into ‘The Sustainability Influence’ and how consumer preferences are accelerating the move to more responsible packaging. Key findings include: *Awareness and interest in recyclability is strong with 84% of consumers reporting that they check on-pack instructions to inform how they dispose of products. *71% of consumers understand claims that state ‘made with recycled materials’. This has risen by 4% since 2022. *Paper-based packaging is a growing trend, with 72% of consumers reporting that they understand paper-based packaging claims and use them to inform purchasing decisions.

Amazon — a company that made more than $35 billion in profit in the first half of 2025 and is on track to spend more than $120 billion on AI this year — is laying off thousands of people, citing its desire to slim down and “operate like the world’s largest startup.” The overall message from Amazon reflected a familiar impulse in Corporate America to reduce headcount in the face of rising prices, an unpredictable trade war and a potential (though still largely speculative) artificial-intelligence revolution. Amazon isn’t alone: UPS on Tuesday announced it had cut some 48,000 workers this year; Target eliminated 1,800 corporate jobs last week “to be stronger, faster and better positioned” for the future, its new CEO said; and other spectacularly profitable tech players like Microsoft and Meta have also shed staff by the thousands recently. But the impulse, which tends to please Wall Street in the short term, also amounts to a giant gamble on a technology that has yet to prove it can deliver the efficiencies its backers have long promised.