Hi there! Below is a recap of industry news over the last week that I’ve compiled.  You can find a source or read the full article by clicking the hyper-linked text after the headline. Have a great week!

Retailer + Brand News:

• American Apparel names marketing, digital executives. Link
• Macy’s shares drop on cautious outlook. Link
• How Nordstrom plans to stay dominant in ecommerce. Link
• Online convenience is the new face of retail disruption. Link
• Target sales grow at fastest rate in three years. Link
• Gap chooses PINK creator to revive its namesake stores, lead design team. Link
• Urban Outfitters announces $20M share buyback. Link
• NastyGal raises $16M. Link
• Nordstrom launching collaboration with Piece & Co. Link
• Analysts say Americans love sweatpants too much for athleisure to go away. Link
• Best Buy opens a Seattle-based technology development center focused on mobile and ecommerce. Link
• Ikea introduces furniture you can charge your smartphone on. Link
• HTC and Under Armour are doing a fitness wearable. Link
• Burberry takes digital innovation in stride at London Fashion Week. Link
• Rebecca Minkoff’s store of the future. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

• Facebook, with over 2 million active advertisers, launches ads manager app for iOS. Link
• Why the print catalog is back in style. Link
• Snapchat’s Our Stories are generating tens of millions of views. Link
• Conde Nast closes blog network NowManifest. Link
• Apple Watch gets 12-page ad spread in Vogue. Link
• Google puts ads in its app store to court mobile app marketers. Link
• Pinterest scores highly in new eMarketer report. Link
• Mobile ad spending not equal around the world. Link
• Converse breaks ‘Made By You’ campaign for Chuck Taylors. Link
• Victoria’s Secret runs ads on People Magazine’s Snapchat. Link

Start-ups:

• Waffle House partners with “sharing economy” delivery service Roadie. Link
• Magic is a start-up that will bring you anything if you’re willing to pay for it. Link
• The Black Tux seeks to disrupt the tuxedo rental business. Link
• Outfittery raises $20M for its curated shopping service for men’s clothing. Link
• Rocket Internet’s latest company is a career listing sit called Everjobs. Link

International:

• [APAC]
  • Amazon could be landing in South Korea soon. Link
  • China’s economy to grow about 7% this year. Link
  • Should luxury retailers give up on Hong Kong? Link
  • Japanese ecommerce giant Rakuten may accept bitcoin. Link
  • Chinese rivals snap at Alibaba’s heels in cross-border ecommerce race. Link
• [EU]
  • Wedding Wire acquires Spain-based Wedding Planner with plans to go global. Link
  • Turkey’s online retail market enjoys investment boom. Link
  • London designers pin hopes on next generation of online shoppers. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

• Target tests mobile loyalty app to drive in store purchases. Link
• On the cusp of a mobile shopping revolution. Link
• The Apple Watch is nearly ready but is the public? Link
• HTC unveils new phone and wearable device. Link
• Venmo was ordered in July to address security issues. Link
• LG’s watch adds another player for the wearable platform wars. Link
• Google strikes a deal with carriers for payments. Link
• Samsung launches two new smartphones, mobile wallet. Link
• Transactional flexibility is the future of payments. Link
• Tinder launches Tinder Plus. Link
• Samsung launches its own mobile money service called Pay. Link

Other

• The opportunity in online luxury fashion. Link
• Google unveils plans for new corporate campus. Link
• Why physical stores and brands still matter. Link