GlobalData vs Veeva

Victoria's Secret embraces nostalgia and entertainment as Q2 sales rise

Victoria's Secret & Co. is leveraging nostalgia and entertainment to re-engage shoppers, according to comments from CEO Hillary Super after the company's Q2 earnings. The lingerie retailer expanded its fragrance portfolio with iterations like Tease Strawberry Bisou and archive drops such as Pink's square bottle scents, which sold out online in under a day. The company also positioned itself as an entertainment brand, premiering the YouTube docuseries 'Angels Among Us' this month. Victoria's Secret reported Q2 net sales of $1.6 billion, up 10% year over year, with 9% comp growth and net income topping $85 million. The company raised its full-year sales guidance to $7.1 billion to $7.18 billion and expects adjusted operating income of up to $590 million, citing strong performance in bras, Pink, beauty, and all channels.

• Victoria's Secret & Co. reported Q2 net sales of $1.6 billion, up 10% year over year.
• Comparable sales rose 9% in Q2, with brick-and-mortar comps growing 7%.
• Net income in Q2 nearly tripled to more than $85 million.

Dillard's Gains Market Share in Q2

Dillard’s reported modest Q2 retail sales growth as comparable sales rose 1% and total retail sales (excluding construction) reached $1.5 billion. The company’s gross margin expanded to 40.9% and net income increased 34% to $97.7 million, partly driven by $37.2 million in tariff refunds that accounted for most of the margin improvement. Category performance was mixed: gains in accessories, lingerie, home, shoes, beauty and men’s, while children’s, juniors and women’s apparel declined. GlobalData analysis and company commentary indicated the apparel weakness reflected lower consumer spending rather than defections to competitors; inventory at quarter end rose about 5% year over year. UBS analysts had expected flat comps, so Dillard’s 1% comp rise beat those expectations.

• Dillard’s Q2 retail sales (excluding construction) were $1.5 billion, with comps up 1% year over year.
• The company received $37.2 million in tariff refunds, which accounted for 260 of the 280 basis-point gross margin increase.
• Gross margin reached 40.9% in Q2.

Adidas apparel outshines footwear in World Cup quarter

Adidas reported a 13% year-over-year increase in second-quarter revenues to €6.7 billion, led by a 34% jump in apparel net sales while footwear remained flat and accessories rose 18%. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) net sales grew 24% versus 6% wholesale growth. The company increased marketing and point-of-sale spending by 30% to capitalize on the World Cup, which weighed on Q2 operating margin. Adidas announced a CFO transition: outgoing CFO Harm Ohlmeyer will be succeeded by former Adidas employee Birgit Kretschmer, who will join the executive board on Sept. 1. Regional strength came from Latin America, North America and Greater China.

• Adidas' Q2 revenues rose 13% year-over-year to €6.7 billion (about $7.8 billion).
• Apparel net sales increased 34% in the second quarter; footwear sales were flat; accessories rose 18%.
• Direct-to-consumer (DTC) net sales increased 24%, while wholesale grew 6%.

IQVIA Expands Veeva Partnership with Clinical Operations Applications

IQVIA and Veeva Systems announced an expansion of their partnership, with IQVIA selecting Veeva CTMS, eTMF, Study Startup, and Site Connect as enterprise standard applications for its clinical development studies. This extends the previously announced EDC partnership. The collaboration aims to increase trial speed and efficiency, strengthen site centricity, and improve decision-making for clinical research customers. All Veeva clinical solutions will also be available through IQVIA for sponsors seeking a full Veeva technology stack. Executives from both companies emphasized the benefits of integrated technologies and customer flexibility in choosing EDC, RTSM, and eCOA solutions. The announcement was made on October 13, 2026, ahead of the Veeva R&D and Quality Summit scheduled for October 20-21 in Boston.

• IQVIA selected Veeva CTMS, eTMF, Study Startup, and Site Connect as enterprise standard applications.
• Partnership expansion extends the previously announced EDC partnership.
• All Veeva clinical solutions will be available through IQVIA for sponsors.

Servier Adopts Veeva OpenData Globally for AI

Servier, a French pharmaceutical company, is standardizing its customer reference data across more than 80 countries with Veeva OpenData, part of Veeva Data Cloud. This initiative builds on Servier's use of Veeva Link Key People and aims to create an AI-ready data foundation by harmonizing fragmented data silos. The centralized data will help commercial and medical teams gain faster insights and improve efficiency. Liam Hanrahan, Director of Global Operations Excellence at Servier, highlighted that the centralized data will improve processes and enable a semantic layer for better engagement with key healthcare professionals. Veeva's president, Kilian Weiss, emphasized that 89% of AI initiatives fail due to data challenges, and Servier's data-first approach demonstrates industry leadership. The adoption replaces fragmented silos and ensures consistency for scaling advanced analytics and AI.

• Servier standardizes customer reference data with Veeva OpenData across more than 80 countries.
• The initiative builds on Servier's use of Veeva Link Key People.
• Veeva OpenData is part of Veeva Data Cloud, which also includes Veeva Link and Veeva Compass.

New Veeva Study Builder Agent to Configure Clinical Studies in as Little as One Day

Veeva announces a new Study Builder Agent that can configure clinical studies in as little as one day, along with other updates including another Top 20 biopharma choosing Vault CRM and the introduction of Falcon Router for agentic triage.