Month: September 2016

Weekly Industry Brief: 9.26.2016

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HERE YOU GO and YOU’RE WELCOME! Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer

  • Alexander Wang partners with Adidas on new unisex collection. Link
  • Ralph Lauren shut down Madison Avenue to reveal first ‘see-now-buy-now’ collection. Link
  • Kate Spade does ‘see-now-buy-now’ with a new video starting Zosia Mamet. Link
  • Aeropostale to live on at malls. Link
  • Etsy buys Blackbird to bring AI to it’s search platform. Link
  • Zara’s success shrouded in ecommerce secrecy. Link
  • Saks revamps personal shopping experience. Link
  • Macy’s teams up with grooming services provider in beauty push. Link
  • Frank and Oak launch womenswear. Link
  • Saving the big box: inside Toys R Us’ plan to revive its stores. Link
  • Target shakes up online leadership with eye on rivals. Link
  • Aritzia may raise up to $400CAD in IPO. Link
  • CVS is hoping to change the way you buy beauty products in the grocery store. Link
  • 500 Million Yahoo accounts breached. Link

Marketing/Social

  • Disney said to be considering bid for Twitter. Link
  • Canada Goose ads tell a global brand story. Link
  • Susie Bubble and BryanBoy respond to Vouge’s criticism of fashion bloggers. Link
  • Nielsen says mainstream consumers really are interested in virtual reality. Link
  • Retailers can now run Facebook ads based on if products are in stock. Link
  • Nieman Marcus blames fashion bloggers for down sales. Link

Startup/Emerging Tech

  • Google shows up late to the crowded AI-based personal assistant field. Link
  • Messaging apps are changing how companies talk with customers. Link
  • Fully autonomous robots: the warehouse workers of the near future. Link
  • Burberry launches ‘see-now-buy-now’ chatbot. Link
  • Why fashion brands are gaga over chat bots. Link
  • Stitchfix expands to menswear. Link
  • Why successful m-commerce needs to work at the speed of light. Link
  • Amazon swats at Shutterfly with photo printing service. Link
  • How Rebecca Minkoff uses technology to create a better shopping experience. Link

International

  • K. retail sales resilient in August as shoppers unfazed by Brexit. Link
  • Nike shuts 35% of stores in India. Link
  • Zara and Lululemon to open at Abu Dhabi’s new mall. Link
  • Apple expands Latin America presence, opens first store in Mexico. Link
  • Amazon quietly raises free shipping threshold in Canada. Link
  • Handmade at Amazon expands to five European countries. Link
  • Martha Stewart has sights on China via Alibaba. Link
  • Plus sized fashion show scores big in Japan. Link
  • China’s millennials are redefining luxury in search for more originality. Link
  • With thriving maker culture, how Shenzhen is becoming the creative capital of China. Link
  • Target launches on Tmall to sell in China. Link

 

Weekly Industry Brief: 9.13.2016

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As always, sources are in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer

  • Aeropostale wins approval of $243M sale to mall group. Link
  • Ralph Lauren adopts “see now, buy now.” Link
  • Macy’s store closures haven’t sent retailers running. Link
  • Moda Operandi opens a shopping salon to an invite-only client list. Link
  • Crew enlisted its staffers, family and friends to model its Spring collection. Link
  • Ecommerce is a boon for rural America but it comes with a price. Link
  • Jessica Alba’s Honest Company has been in talks to sell to a big consumer product giant. Link
  • Macy’s signs deal to open an Apple store at its Herald Square flagship. Link
  • Amazon Prime now delivers to this football stadium. Link
  • Ousted American Apparel founder secures $10M loan for new venture. Link
  • Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop get into the fashion business. Link
  • What the founder of Tom’s Shoes is doing now. Link
  • In the studio with the creative director of Coach. Link
  • 7 questions with HP’s CEO after $1B acquisition. Link
  • Kate Spade upgrade as Wells Fargo predicts comeback for brand. Link

Marketing/Social

  • American Eagle launches new marketing campaign. Link
  • Facebook steps in to prove the value of chatbots with Tommy Hilfiger. Link
  • How Under Armour mastered crisis communications after the 2014 Olympics. Link
  • Struggling Banana Republic appoints Olivia Palermo style ambassador. Link

Startup/Emerging Tech

  • Facebook adds payments to Messenger chatbots. Link
  • Alphabet and Chipotle bring burrito delivery by drone to campus. Link
  • WalMart wants shoppers to be able to hail a cart. Link
  • Eye-tracking technology for cars promises to keep drivers alert. Link
  • Apple’s new app store for iMessage could help brands break free on mobile. Link
  • Google’s new app lets you take, share VR photos with your phone. Link
  • Amazon brings push notifications to Echo. Link

International

  • Japanese app takes off in the US. Link
  • Online sales in France grew 13% in the first half. Link
  • Starbucks to open 500 new stores in China in 2016 in chase for $9.5B tea market. Link
  • Ikea to integrate its stores in India with online trade. Link
  • How to attract China’s connected traveling shoppers before, during and after their trips. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 9.6.2016

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Check out the industry’s headlines from the week.  Sources are in the hyperlinked text. Ciao!

Brand/Retailer

  • TopShop the latest to join runway-to-retail move. Link
  • Target’s omni-channel target. Link
  • Intermix opens its first concept store. Link
  • First look at Abercrombie’s new branding. Link
  • Club Monaco joins NYFW schedule with shoppable presentation. Link
  • Crew to launch new line at Nordstrom. Link
  • Aritzia seeks to raise about $232M in initial offering. Link
  • Inside the reinvention of Saks Fifth Avenue. Link
  • Fabrics that pass heat but not light may keep people cool in the summer. Link
  • ASOS to pay 20M pounds to rival retailers. Link
  • Crew shows no signs of improving in first half of the year. Link
  • Consortium submits bid to save 229 Aeropostale stores. Link
  • American Girl Dolls coming to a Toys R Us near you. Link
  • Lululemon set to open smaller, hyper-local stores. Link
  • Starbucks is testing weekend brunch. Link

Marketing/Social

  • This fashion week, Google gets a new look. Link
  • Prada to focus on online, social to grow sales. Link
  • Snapchat will hit nearly $1B in ad revenue by the end of 2017. Link
  • Facebook created the digital equivalent of a coupon drawer. Link
  • Stadiums update location tracking to feed ad exchanges. Link
  • Ann Taylor joins Snapchat with a shopping strategy. Link

Startup/Emerging Tech

  • Smashbox goes behind the scenes of a photo shoot with its foray into VR. Link
  • Lowe’s launches retail robots. Link
  • Michael Kors brings really, really big design to Android Wear. Link
  • Yelp invites hackers to expose vulnerabilities through bug bounty program. Link
  • How Rebecca Minkoff keeps disrupting the fashion industry. Link

International

  • China’s luxury consumer moves online, brands follow. Link
  • Lululemon helps China’s affluent young professionals warm up to an active lifestyle. Link
  • German retail sales rise 1.7% in July. Link
  • Amazon expands Dash into the U.K., Germany and Austria. Link
  • Outlet malls booming in China as department stores feel the pinch. Link