Happy week of Black Friday! Below is a round up of industry news from the last week. All sources can be found in the hyper-linked text after each headline.
Retailer + Brand News:
- Nordstrom unveils customization studio. Link
- Century 21 ups ante with C21 edition. Link
- H&M to launch eight new online markets in 2015. Link
- Neiman Marcus links with St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C. Link
- Gap names new presidents for Banana Republic and Gap brands. Link
- WalMart tightens online price-match policy. Link
- Fashion boutiques team up with Farfetch.com for click-and-collect service. Link
- Zappos tests brick-and-mortar pop up shop this holiday season. Link
- Net-a-porter said to consider 2015 IPO. Link
- What FEED can teach companies about making meaningful connections. Link
- Ikea to reissue original midcentury furniture. Link
- Amazon to launch travel booking website. Link
- Cavernous stores wear on Forever 21. Link
- Apple’s plans for Beats Music start to take shape. Link
- AT&T and Starbucks to bring wireless phone chargers to some coffee shops. Link
- Amazon leases Manhattan building, hinting at ambitions. Link
- Wonder to close most of its stores. Link Burch Creative refutes these reports. Link
- Amazon plans fashion photography studio in London. Link
- Coach rolls out new retail concept. Link
- Black Friday: Top US shopping day fades to gray. Link
- Nordstrom reshuffles its traditional half-yearly sales. Link
- Fab is close to a fire sale but CEO gets another chance. Link
Social Media + Marketing:
- Wanelo launches buy now technology. Link
- How Michael Kors forces Instagram to do retail. Link
- Google to help publishers make money by blocking ads. Link
- Facebook testing collaboration tools for businesses. Link
- Why fashion marketers should be paying attention to Ello. Link
- TV looks to offer web-like ad targeting. Link
- Forrester says brands are wasting money on Facebook and Twitter. Link
- New York Magazine creates ‘pop-up blogs.’ Link
- Ikea recreates iconic mealtime master paintings. Link
- Google adds detailed info to shopping search results on mobile devices. Link
- Amazon announcing Black Friday specials on Snapchat. Link
Start-ups:
- Glossier raises over $10M to reinvent the beauty industry. Link
- How crowdfunding is changing the fashion business. Link
- Memoir raises $5.5M to stitch together your digital photos. Link
- Kik raises $38M to battle Snapchat for teens. Link
International:
[APAC]
- Lazada battles global ecommerce players and Indonesian rivals. Link
- Macy’s, Saks, Bloomingdale’s and more accept Alipay to woo rich Chinese shoppers. Link
[EU]
- Zara to open new Irish stores as retail recovers. Link
- Royal Mail warns competition from Amazon will hamper growth. Link
- UK looks to keep records on internet users. Link
- UK shoppers plan holiday spending spree, Deloitte says. Link
[AU]
- Sephora store opens in Sydney on December 5th. Link
[A/ME]
- Dubai’s Souq.com plans “Black Friday” equivalent to help boost sales growth. Link
Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:
- Sephora rolls out Apple Pay in all Bay Area and Manhattan locations. Link
- Target’s new app steers you to the right aisle for Black Friday. Link
- Victoria’s Secret adds messaging to app. Link
- For Opening Ceremony x Intel MICA smart bracelet, beauty beats brains. Link
- Google Play store opens to Chinese developers. Link
- US mobile payments market to boom by 2019. Link
- This clever app scans wine and beer bottles to help you find drinks you’ll love. Link
- Moleskine Smart Notebooks turns your sketches into adobe-friendly vector files. Link
- Square reveals plans to support Apple Pay in 2015. Link
- App, magazine and IRL community for collaborating creators. Link
- Adobe shaping the future of creative mobile apps. Link
Other: