By CultureBanx Team

• Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty lingerie brand is opening up physical stores in 2022 across the U.S.
• Victoria’s Secret has closed 240 company-operated stores since 2019

Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty lingerie brand is bringing all the smoke to Victoria's Secret (VSCO -2.58%) by moving in on what may have been its last stronghold, brick and mortar stores. The company’s Chief Marketing and Design Officer Christiane Pendarvis told Bloomberg that Savage x Fenty is taking its talents to the streets and will be opening up physical stores in 2022 across the U.S. As the legacy push up bra maker continues to flail under their antiquated practices, Savage x Fenty is sitting squarely at the center of business and culture in the $13.1 billion U.S. women’s underwear sector, leaving Victoria's Secret hard pressed to replicate this model.

Why This Matters: Rhi Rih’s lingerie company has been gaining market share on Victoria’s Secret and experienced 200% sales growth last year. During the age of diversity in the industry there’s been a significant shift, with Savage X Fenty poised to become a front runner in the global lingerie market that’s expected to hit $325 billion by 2025.

By CultureBanx Team

• Former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam SPAC Freedom Acquisition I is in talks to merge with Credijusto and CIAL Dun & Bradstreet at a $1.4
• Thiam already raised $345 million in March through an IPO of Freedom Acquisition I on the NYSE
  

Blank-check SPAC Freedom Acquisition I Corp, helmed by former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, is in talks to merge with Credijusto and CIAL Dun & Bradstreet. The deal would value the new entity at around $1.5 billion, according to Reuters. Thiam, an Ivory Coast native would help the combined company navigate operations in 43 countries, including Africa and the Middle East, once the deal is complete. Freedom Acquisition I planned to target the financial services sector, focusing on businesses that are technology-enabled and demonstrate growth and scalability potential, putting this merger directly in their sweet spot.

Why This Matters: Thiam already raised $345 million in March through an IPO of Freedom Acquisition on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). After successfully leading the turnaround of the insurer Prudential (PRU -2.55%) from 2009 to 2014, Thiam took the helm of Credit Suisse in July 2015 and successfully restructured the bank in a financial year in which the firm posted a $3 billion loss. He has a solid proven track record of making companies successful, and can do the same thing with Freedom Acquisition, Mexican fintech group Credijusto and Latin American corporate data provider CIAL Dun & Bradstreet.

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By CultureBanx Team

• Amazon is bringing on former Goldman Sachs executive Edith Cooper to its board of directors and she will be the only Black member
• 145 S&P 500 companies have appointed at least one Black director to their board since last June
  

Online retail giant Amazon (AMZN -0.05%) is attempting to make their corporate board a little more woke by addressing the critical equity and corporate governance issue by bringing on former Goldman Sachs (GS +0.52%) executive Edith Cooper. She will serve as the company’s only Black board director following Walgreens (WBA -0.53%) CEO Roz Brewer’s exit earlier this year. Where does the true value lie for companies willing to bring diversity of thought onto their boards?

Why This Matters: One-hundred forty-five S&P 500 companies have appointed at least one Black director to their board since last June, according to Latino Corporate Directors Association. For Amazon, Cooper’s addition to its board comes after the company faced backlash for having a lack of diversity in their executive positions. As part of her new board position, Cooper acquired 285 shares of Amazon, vesting in three annual installments between 2022 and 2024. Shares of tehr company are trading north of $3,200 per share.

By CultureBanx Team

• JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Stifel, Nicolaus are seeking to have their $2B Flint water crisis lawsuit dismissed
• Over 2,000 Flint residents are plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit water crisis against the 3 major banks
  

A federal judge recently heard arguments seeking a dismissal in a $2 billion lawsuit worth of damages for Flint, Michigan residents, from the banks they believe were behind their water crisis. Citizens of Flint have been pursuing a civil lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase (JPM %), Wells Fargo (WFC %), and Stifel, Nicolaus, & Co. for underwriting a bond that allowed the city of Flint to pay for the KWA pipeline that spurred the water crisis. Despite the massive health implications of funding the $220 million municipal bond for Flint, the banks moved forward with the plan, prioritizing long term financial gain over the well-being of the area's residents.

Why This Matters: Plaintiffs’ attorneys argue without the bond financing to join the KWA, Flint would not have switched its water source to the Flint River. Improperly treated river water caused Flint’s water crisis. However, The banks are arguing that they were asked to line up financing for the pipeline and it had nothing to do with Flint’s water plant.