Sorry I missed the update last week– was busy, busy!  Check out some industry highlights from the last two weeks. Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand / Retailer:

• Sephora created an accelerator program for female-led beauty startups. Link
• Tiffany’s cuts jobs as sales lose sparkle. Link
• Ikea wants you to stop throwing away your furniture. Link
• Birchbox cuts 15% of staff and puts Canada plans on pause. Link
• Macy’s opens ‘the Etsy Shop’ in an effort to attract millennial shoppers. Link
• H&M will again open more than one store per day this year. Link
• Coach is slowly restoring its upscale aura. Link
• Amazon Payments’ transaction volume surged in 2015. Link
• Amazon hints at new shipping business. Link
• Under Armour moves to control own future by opening 200 new stores in 2016. Link
• Gap taps Abercrombie and Fitch alum as new CMO. Link
• Amazon’s clothing selection is now bigger than 250 WalMart super centers combined. Link

Social Media / Marketing:

• Spotify ready to introduce video product. Link
• Fashion and beauty brands are investing more than ever in influencer marketing. Link
• Google Glass disappears from social media accounts. Link
• Google’s ad revenue rises in 2015 despite continued decline in prices. Link
• Why cross-device programmatic advertising is ready to take off in 2016. Link
• Facebook launches a sports hub just in time for Super Bowl. Link
• Instagram is showing you a lot more ads than it used to. Link
• Teenagers reveal what they think is cool – and what isn’t – in 2016. Link
• Twitter and GoPro team up for Periscope live-video streaming. Link
• Weibo, beating Twitter to the punch and lengthens its 140 character limit. Link

Start Ups:

• Uber prepares meal-delivery service for 10 U.S. cities. Link
• These 7 startups are poised to join the unicorn club in 2016. Link
• Uber Rush spells the end of retailer las mile delivery innovations. Link
• Sesame launches a venture arm to invest in startups that help kids. Link

International:

• Apple makes a play to open retail stores in India. Link
• Uber expands cooperation with Alibaba’s Alipay. Link
• Alibaba teams with Nvidia in $1B bet on cloud computing. Link
• com tests drones for rural China delivery. Link
• Google brings wifi to Mumbai’s railway station. Link
• Why Italian luxury companies are still betting on China. Link
• Bloomingdale’s continues Middle East expansion with Kuwaiti location. Link
• Amazon to create 2,500 jobs in the UK this year. Link
• Facebook criticized in India over free limited internet. Link
• Alibaba revenue growth seen slowest on record to intensify fight with JD.com. Link

Mobile / Wearable / Emerging Tech:

• Samsung is opening a VR film studio in New York City. Link
• WhatsApp joins the billion users club. Link
• Facebook to shut Parse, tool for mobile apps. Link
• Google to make smartphones that recognizes faces. Link
• Facebook and Twitter: users consume mobile content faster. Link