Spanish retailer Mango is embarking on a bold expansion plan in the U.S. as it looks to shed its fast-fashion image and position itself as a premium brand.  

The privately held company, headquartered in Barcelona, plans to open 42 new storefronts in the U.S. by the end of the year and aims to launch 20 more in 2025, primarily in the Sun Belt and Northeast, Mango CEO Toni Ruiz told CNBC in an interview. 

The $70 million expansion plan includes a new logistics center outside of Los Angeles and about 600 new jobs, bringing the company’s U.S. headcount to about 1,200 employees by next year. 

“This is a long-term commitment,” Ruiz said. “We have also the opportunity to have bigger stores in the U.S.,” he noted, adding Mango will open some multiline stores that feature men’s and kids’ items.

Mango’s sales grew more than 10% in the U.S. this year and the company expects to see double-digit growth again next year. 

Currently, Mango’s largest market is its home base in Spain. While the U.S. is among its top five markets, the company is aiming to grow sales in the region so it can breach the top three. The goal is part of a larger strategic plan at Mango focused on growing sales from about 3.1 billion euros annually to 4 billion euros by 2026.

Mango, known for its European chic basics, is looking to reposition itself as a premium brand and signal to consumers that it is not a fast-fashion label. Its design process takes between seven and eight months, and everything is designed in-house in Barcelona, Ruiz said. 

“Internally we have all the design, all the patterns, all the fittings — this is very important for us so 100% is done here. We also have 500 people taking care of the product from end to end,” said Ruiz. “We are trying to elevate. What does it mean, elevate? We think that our customer appreciates a lot this creativity, this design, this own style. So this is why we are pushing a lot, not only in terms of quality, design and also, why not prices? Because our proposal is getting better.” 

Ruiz said Mango’s U.S. growth plans are focused on stores because a physical presence will allow the company to get closer to its consumer and tell its story in a new way.

The company follows a string of other international competitors such as Sweden’s H&M, Spain’s Zara and Japan’s Uniqlo that have turned to the U.S. market for growth. They are all competing to win over the average American household, which spends on average about $2,000 annually on clothes, according to a Lending Tree study.

Mango has opened stores in Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; and Massachusetts, but has turned its sights to the Sun Belt for its next phase of growth, driven by insights from e-commerce.

Mango’s website now represents about 33% of overall sales and helps the retailer determine where its customers are shopping from and what they are buying, said Ruiz. 

“It’s a big challenge for us, because we have understood that every state in the U.S. is like a country in Europe, so because of the customer, because of the way of dressing,” said Ruiz. “It’s very important to understand the difference between the states. … So this is why we try to go step by step.” 

Walmart on Monday confirmed that it’s ending some of its diversity initiatives, removing some LGBTQ-related merchandise from its website and winding down a nonprofit that funded programs for minorities.

The nation’s largest employer, which has about 1.6 million U.S. workers, joined a growing list of companies that have stepped back from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts after feeling the heat from conservative activists.

Some have also attributed changes to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year that struck down affirmative action programs at colleges.

Those companies include Tractor Supply, which said in June it was eliminating DEI roles and stopping sponsorship of Pride festivals. Lowe’s, Ford and Molson Coors have also walked back some of their equity and inclusion policies in recent months.

Others, such as Anheuser-Busch-owned Bud Light and Target, have faced sharp backlash and falling sales after marketing campaigns or merchandise focused on the LGBTQ community.

In a statement, Walmart said it is “willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”

“We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone,” the statement said.

Walmart’s DEI changes were first reported by Bloomberg News.

Among the changes, Walmart will no longer allow third-party sellers to sell some LGBTQ-themed items on Walmart’s website, including items marketed to transgender youth like chest binders, company spokeswoman Molly Blakeman said.

She said it also recently decided to stop sharing data with the Human Rights Campaign, a nonprofit that tracks companies’ LGBTQ policies, or with other similar organizations.

Additionally, the big-box retailer is winding down the Center for Racial Equity, a nonprofit that Walmart started in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder sparked protests across the country. At the time, Walmart and the company’s foundation pledged $100 million over five years to fight systemic racism and create the center.

Over the past year, the company has phased out supplier diversity programs, which gave preferential financing to some groups, such as women and minorities, after the Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action.

It’s also moved away from using the term “diversity, equity and inclusion” or DEI in company documents, employee titles and employee resource groups. For example, its former chief diversity officer role is now called the chief belonging officer.

Yet, Walmart will continue to award grants, disaster relief, and funding to events like Pride parades, but with more guidelines of how funding can be used, Blakeman said.

Some recent changes came on the heels of pressure from conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who threatened a consumer boycott of Walmart. Starbuck, a vocal DEI-opponent who had also put heat on Tractor Supply, touted Walmart’s changes in a post on X, describing them as “the biggest win yet for our movement to end wokeness in corporate America.”

Walmart had conversations with Starbuck over the last week and already had some DEI-related changes underway, Blakeman said.

Walmart’s DEI changes were first reported by Bloomberg News.

Kohl’s is getting a new CEO, its third since 2018.

The off-mall department store’s current CEO Tom Kingsbury is stepping down effective Jan. 15. He will leave the position he held first on an interim basis starting in late 2022, and then permanently since early 2023.

Michaels CEO Ashley Buchanan will take over the top job at Kohl’s as Kingsbury departs, after leading the crafting retailer since 2020. Prior to his time at Michaels, Buchanan was at Walmart and its Sam’s Club division for 13 years.

Kohl’s shares fell about 3% in extended trading following the announcement.

At the world’s largest retailer, he held the roles of chief merchandising and chief operating officer for Walmart U.S. e-commerce and chief merchant at Sam’s Club before that. Buchanan is currently on the board of Macy’s, but will be stepping down from that role.

Kingsbury will remain with Kohl’s in an advisory role to Buchanan and stay on the board until he retires in May. Kohl’s doesn’t intend to replace Kingsbury and will reduce the board size by one seat.

Buchanan will step in just after the critical holidays end and as the retailer closes its fiscal year. There’s a lot of work to be done at a time when department stores are struggling to resonate with shoppers who have more options than ever before. While Kohl’s off-mall physical format has insulated it a bit more than other department stores, it has had a difficult several years.

Kohl’s shares fell 17% during Kingsbury’s interim period from Dec. 2, 2022 to Feb. 2, 2023 and then dropped a further 45% since. Kingsbury hasn’t been able to return sales to growth at Kohl’s. Its comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, have fallen for the past 10 quarters.

Kingsbury took over as CEO after Michelle Gass left Kohl’s to become president and then eventual CEO of Levi Strauss. Kingsbury had been a member of the Kohl’s board since 2021. He previously served as CEO of Burlington Stores from 2008 to 2019.

Kenneth Leech, the former co-chief investment officer of Western Asset Management Co, was charged by U.S. authorities on Monday with running a fraudulent “cherry-picking” scheme where he improperly favored some clients’ accounts over others when allocating trades.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that between January 2021 and October 2023, Leech disproportionately allocated better performing trades to favored portfolios, and worse performing trades to other portfolios.

Leech also faces related criminal charges from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, the SEC said.

Lawyers for Leech did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a similar request.

Western Asset Management, known as Wamco, is part of Franklin Resources, which acquired the business through its purchase of Legg Mason in 2020.

Clients have pulled tens of billions of dollars from Wamco in the last few months, after Franklin announced that authorities were investigating Leech.