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 5^th. 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:

• The $100 custom shirt is here. Does it have room for profit? Link
• Experts predict retailers will face holiday hacking surge. Link
• The post-PC CEO: no desk, no desktop. Link
• A look at seven game-changing tech advances for retailers. Link