Year In Review: Why Retail Broke in 2025 (And What Actually Caused It)

This wasn’t a normal year in retail. It was a stress test.In this solo episode, Mal breaks down the five forces that quietly reshaped retail and ecommerce this year — and why so many brands struggled at the same time.This isn’t a recap of headlines. It’s a post-mortem of business models that only worked when conditions were perfect.Starting with the most visible consumer shifts and counting down to the most structural force underneath it all, Mal unpacks why weak retail models stopped being subsidised — and what actually separated the brands that survived from the ones that didn’t.🔢 What’s covered in this episode:#5 — Cheap China Reset Consumer ValueHow platforms like Shein and Temu didn’t just steal share — they rewired how consumers think about price, value, and waiting.#4 — AI Broke Trust Before It Created AdvantageThe rise of scam stores, fake creatives, and chargebacks — and why AI punished brands without taste, judgment, or governance.#3 — Retail Darwinism: Mosaic vs LabubuTwo very different failures, same lesson.• Mosaic Brands: legacy retail collapsing under debt, malls, and irrelevance• Labubu via Pop Mart: hype, virality, and scarcity with no durability#2 — The Death of the DTC FairytaleWhy brands rushed into stores, marketplaces, and wholesale — not for growth, but for survival.#1 — US Tariffs: The Real Story Beneath EverythingThe invisible structural force that exposed fragile economics, crushed mid-market margins, and made everything feel harder at once.