McDonald’s Australia turned its cardboard drinks tray into a vegan leather “sipwear” bag with gold hardware and a pocket for lip gloss. The idea came from fans who were already styling their trays as purses on social. It still carries four drinks without a spill. The same week, Woolworths made the Aussie nickname for its hot roast chicken official with a real insulated “Bachelor’s Handbag” printed just like the chicken bag. Our take: Both ideas came from customers first. Fans were already styling the tray as a purse, and Aussies had called the chicken a handbag for years. Before your next client brainstorm, scroll their tagged posts. The merch idea might already be there.
Erewhon’s pop-up at LACMA did well enough to stay. It’s now a permanent café with its own LACMA Smoothie, sold only there, plus a limited sweatshirt, tote and hat inspired by the Calder fountain out front. The merch is hand-painted, so no two pieces match. It’s part of a bigger shift, with the museum gift shop going upmarket. In New York, Gap, the Whitney and the Lichtenstein estate dropped a collection timed to the museum’s new show, with three styles sold only at the Whitney. In Seoul, a Do Ho Suh shirt priced like fine art sold out within minutes. For promo pros with cultural clients, the lesson is fewer SKUs with the artist’s name front and centre.
Last November, a glass Bearista cup sold out in less than a day and popped up on eBay at serious markups. Starbucks took the hint. This year the bear, who’s been in coffeehouses since 1997, gets his own collection in the first holiday wave on November 5, right next to a new glass Christmas Tree cup. The original cup is making a comeback too. Meanwhile in the UK, Starbucks made a leather cup-shaped bag charm that fans can only win, not buy. Our take: one sold-out item is a signal, not a one-off. When a client’s piece flies off the shelf, pitch them the whole line around it.
Nominations are open for the 2027 skummunity Awards, and this year there’s a new category. The Creative Merch Award is for the project you still pull up to wow clients, the one that made a client’s jaw drop. The top 10 projects get spotlighted in the commonsku booth at PPAI Expo 2027, and the community picks the winner in a live vote. There are five more awards, too, from Shops Innovation Leader to Supplier Community Champion. Nominate yourself, a promo pal or a partner. It only takes a minute →
Clients keep asking for the ROI on merch, so Bobby put the question to Ana Andjelic, former chief brand officer at Banana Republic. Her answer is to measure what the client already tracks, from order value to brand mentions, over a 12-month plan. In our latest skucast, we pulled her conversation and other favourite moments from the skucamp Montréal stage. Todd Henry explains why AI should be your instrument, not your calculator. Tony McNally makes the case for the teammate who questions everything, and Caleb Gilbertson shares where he sees the distributor model heading next. Listen to Episode 374 →
🚇 NYC Transit’s annual memorabilia sale sent one couple home with real subway seats for their kitchen nook. Next stop: breakfast.
🎲 Jack White’s newest concert poster doubles as a playable board game, and the Vegas run sold out. Hang it up or roll the dice.
🗽 Supreme inked a licensing deal with New York City for FDNY, DSNY and NYPD logos, and the city takes 6% of net profits. City hall has a streetwear line now.
🏀 The Miami Heat dropped a GTA VI “Vice City” collection about seven weeks before the game launches, and plenty of sizes reportedly vanished within hours.
🤖 100 Thieves pulled a RuneScape tee after fans spotted an AI edit. Gamers check every pixel.
👟 Vogue says bootleg merch is winning on design. Licensed programs, take notes from the curb.
🍕 Xbox and Prince St. Pizza made a Gears of War pizza cutter, and it reportedly sold out. Game night snacks just got armed.
🐶 KFC Singapore launched its first-ever pet merch collection. Finger lickin’ good, now for good boys too.
🏆 Nominations are open for the 2027 skummunity Awards, including a new Creative Merch Award for the project you’re proudest of.