Embraced my day off last Monday so this week is a bit of a combo of the last two weeks.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer

• Bed Bath tries to move beyond the coupon. Link
• Google pop-ups may signal path to brick-and-mortar. Link
• Shopify now lets merchants sell through Facebook Messenger. Link
• Warby Parker, Bonobos have big plans for physical stores. Link
• Canada Goose preparing for IPO. Link
• Will Anthropologie ‘s super stores win where department stores have failed? Link
• Amazon to build convenience stores, Wall Street Journal reports. Link
• Alibaba’s $60B Finance Arm seeks growth before IPO, say sources. Link
• Amazon said to limit warehouse access to new merchants. Link
• Amazon launching music streaming service for $10 a month. Link
• New from Target and Dwell: Chic modern furniture for $400 or less. Link
• Fast Retailing’s growth slows sharply. Link
• Designers find Rent-the-Runway a rich source of data. Link
• Macy’s flagship debuts Apple shop. Link
• US retail sales rose in September by the most in three months. Link
• Macy’s to open on Thanksgiving; Target, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus to close. Link
• Economist sees mid-market slump this holiday shopping season. Link
• Is customization the future of the beauty industry? Link
• Everlane is thinking about adding stores. Link
• Swarovski, maker of all things bejeweled, tries on a hoodie. Link
• Nordstrom pulls Moschino drug-themed clothing line after protests. Link
• Everlane partners with Opening Ceremony on collaboration. Link
• eBay’s new high-end furniture shop includes a visual search engine. Link
• Net-a-porter to open West London technology hub. Link

Marketing/Social

• Meet CoverGirl’s first ever male spokesmodel. Link
• New Patagonia short film shows how fair trade shopping is good for business. Link
• Facebook launches a pared back chat app for Android. Link
• Abercrombie’s massive rebrand initiates with Instagram disappearance. Link
• Karl Lagerfeld to open hospitality line of hotels, bars and clubs. Link
• Your guide to Generation Z: the frugal, brand-wary, determined anti-millenninals. Link
• Can Abercrombie entice Generation Z by being nicer? Link
• Facebook’s Slack competitor now available for any business to use. Link
• How the founders of Coveteur built a must-follow fashionable (and profitable) brand. Link

Startup/Emerging Tech

• IBM to pour $200M into Watson Internet of Things A.I. business in Munich. Link
• Galleries Lafayette reveals retail disrupters in startup accelerator. Link
• Three fashion start-ups tapping tough categories. Link
• Alibaba’s new payment system lets virtual reality shoppers pay by nodding. Link
• Kohl’s Pay is the latest combatant in the payment app wars. Link
• The mainstreaming of virtual reality. Link

International

• UK retailers fret about sourcing prices as Brexit weakens pound. Link
• WalMart Mexico sales growth slowed in Q3. Link
• Macy’s plans to launch ecommerce site in China in 2017. Link
• Majority of global consumers shop cross border. Link
• H&M opens in New Zealand. Link
• Google to return to China as a hardware provider. Link
• Almost a million Chinese tourists visit Macau during Golden Week. Link
• Apple to open its second R&D center in China. Link
• Two ways to break into India’s consumer market. Link
• Ikea does its homework before opening in India. Link