Carter’s unveils brand refresh as it courts more Gen Z and millennial parents

Digital Marketing Redux // September 15, 2026 Carter’s unveils brand refresh as it courts more Gen Z and millennial parents By Anna Hensel Carter's Sleep Shop Carter’s, a giant in the children’s apparel space, is unveiling its first major brand refresh since 2000, repositioning its marketing and messaging with Gen Z and millennial parents in mind.

The brand refresh involves a new brand commitment: “to let every child’s light shine,” as well as a new logo and visual identity. Carter’s is also investing in some new marketing tactics as part of the rebrand, like a dedicated creator program, and a new partnership with Outward Bound.

Founded in 1865, Carter’s has gone through a series of ups and downs in its 161-year history. In October of last year, the company announced it would be closing 150 stores and cutting 300 jobs over the next three years, partially due to the financial impact of tariffs. But, for three consecutive quarters, its net sales have grown.

Net sales grew 5%, to $615 million, during the second quarter of 2026. In June, the company welcomed a new CEO: Sharon Price John, formerly the CEO of Build-A-Bear. During her first quarterly earnings call in July, John began hinting at her vision for the company’s future.

“Carter’s is a well-established, diversified company with a solid foundation for expansion,” John said during the earnings call. “And in my view, we have significant opportunities that can contribute to generating consistent, profitable growth. Attracting more Gen Z customers is a particular focus.

Price John said during the earnings call that, “We continue to add new consumers, including the important Gen Z demographics, which grew mid-teens in the [second fiscal] quarter.”

Sarah Crockett, chief marketing officer of Carter’s, said that the goal with the rebrand was to “honor the brands that have earned the trust of our families for 161 years, while incorporating updated elements that really speak directly to the Gen Z, young, millennial audiences and the values that they care about.”

In particular, Carter’s research found that self-expression and letting kids wear what they want was a key theme younger parents really valued, Crockett said. “It was a very obvious theme in a lot of the consumer research that we had an opportunity to ultimately contribute to a childhood that is shaped more by encouragement than comparison,” Crockett said.

As part of the rebrand, Carter’s is rolling out a new commercial, called “Watch Them Glow,” which Crockett positioned as a way for Carter’s to reintroduce itself to new audiences — to remind them of the history of Carter’s and to introduce this new brand promise.

“For generations, Carter’s has had the honor of making clothes that let children shine,” a narrator proclaims over a series of videos showing parents and their babies over the years. The ad is rolling out across streaming video networks starting on Tuesday.

Marisa Ortega, retail and e-commerce analyst with Mintel, said in an interview with Modern Retail that the firm’s research does indeed show that parents — especially younger ones — do seem to be focused on self-expression and letting kids wear clothes that help them express themselves.

“When we see the interest in more inclusive clothing options, like gender neutral, I think that also speaks to self-expression,” Ortega said. In an April 2025 study, Mintel asked roughly 2,000 U. S. internet users what the most important factors were for them when buying clothing for children under age 12.

Forty-two percent of respondents said comfort, 36% said price, 29% said durability, and 28% said style, or self-expression. For a market leader like Carter’s, rolling out a rebrand and new brand identity involves many steps.

A brand refresh means rolling out a new logo, but it also means updating logos and taglines in every place where a customer may encounter the Carter’s brand: on social media, in product packaging, in Carter’s own stores and across retail partners.

Carter’s logos through the years One area that’s getting a refresh, for example, is the sleepwear section in Carter’s stores. Carter’s is now branding these areas as “stellar sleep shops” to tie back to the “Watch Them Glow” commercial. “We are sort of famous for our [sleepwear],” Crockett said.

As such, while the new brand identity is rolling out across Carter’s own channels now, it will take until 2027 to roll out additional product, retail and packaging elements. The brand refresh also encompasses new and expanded partnerships with some non-profits.

Carter’s is partnering with Outward Bound to share expertise and advice in an outdoor space, another area that Crockett said is increasingly important to young parents as they look to get their kids invested in activities that don’t involve screens. “We’re working with them on a curriculum, essentially, that we’ll be pulling together …