My recap of top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer + Brand News:

• Alibaba goes global, Singles Day sales top $9 Billion. Link
• Quirky and GE unveil their vision for the connected home. Link
• Why New Balance makes shoes for Kate Spade and JCrew. Link
• Macy’s launches same-day delivery in eight cities. Link
• Radio Shack backtracks on Thanksgiving hours after worker outcry. Link
• Amazon is hiring drone test pilots. Link
• Old Navy criticized for higher cost of plus-size jeans. Link
• Kendall Jenner signs on as the new face of Estee Lauder. Link
• BCBG boosts Wi-Fi to drive store visits. Link
• Target buys Pittsburgh technology firm promising ‘Amazon-like’ shopping experiences in stores. Link
• Levi Strauss to eliminate 500 jobs. Link
• Alibaba’s boutique shop 11 Main opens doors on mobile. Link
• WalMart spreads Black Friday over five days. Link
• Rebecca Minkoff’s new stores have touch-screens for online shopping. Link
• Alibaba is now bigger than P&G, GE and Wells Fargo. Link
• Farfetch rolls out click-and-collect. Link
• J.Crew’s beauty guru launches line of his own. Link
• H&M will begin Black Friday deals in stores and online on 11/20. Link
• Early holiday promotions eat away Black Friday sales. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

• Google seeks to help fight Ebola with donation-matching campaign. Link
• Inside Refinery29’s video strategy. Link
• Six new features to expect from Twitter. Link
• Google’s DoubleClick goes dark, makes internet ad-free for an hour. Link
• Uber partners with Spotify. Link
• Twitter speaks up with growth strategy intended to soothe Wall Street. Link
• Conde Nast hires YouTube stars for original video series. Link
• Publishers sell sponsored content made for Instagram, Snapchat. Link
• LuLuLemon slammed for Dalai Lama partnership. Link
• Macy’s and Marriott approach SnapChat very differently as platform’s influence grows. Link
• Michael Kors adds “buy” to Instagram. Link
• Interactive YouTube film from Asos lets uses change color scheme. Link
• Target sponsors NBC web video series. Link
• Who’s going to drive advertising spending this holiday season? Link

Start-ups:

• One Piece is a social pop-up that offers discounts for social media influence. Link
• Craftsy, an e-learning site for makers raises $50M. Link
• DSTLD is Everlane for jeans. Link
• VIDA raises $1.3M for socially responsible ecommerce. Link
• Rocket Internet plots ten start-ups. Link
• Glossier raises $8.4M to take on beauty and cosmetics with verticalized approach. Link

International:

[APAC]

• Japan slips into recession. Link
• Ikea debuts in Korea. Link
• After Singles Day, Alibaba delivered 40 Million packages in three days. Link
• com doubles its shoppers in the past year, shifts towards Alibaba-style marketplace model. Link
• Rakuten acquires Japanese beauty portal to expand its own salon booking service. Link

[EU]

• American Eagle expands in Europe; will open three stores in London over next week. Link

[CA]

• Can Aritzia become as well-known in the U.S. as Canada? Link

[AU]

• Etsy partners with David Jones for Christmas. Link
• Surfstich buys UK rival Surfdome.com. Link
• Google grabs first carrier partner for Project Loon tests in Australia. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

• Macy’s set to unveil visual search app. Link
• Urban Outfitters drives mobile engagement with app newsfeed strategy. Link
• Lord & Taylor expands iBeacon program to all US stores. Link
• ‘Build it and they will come’ no longer works for mobile apps. Link
• Cyber Monday is now Mobile Monday. Get ready. Link
• Peach is a flash sales app with an auction-based twist. Link
• Early Apple Pay stats point to a modest but promising start. Link

Other:

• Key takeaways from PSFK’s Future of Retail 2015. Link
• Nordstrom is leading retailing the right way. Link