Here is your industry news from the past two weeks! Sources are in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer

• 5 rules for a retail town square: What Apple and Whole Foods can teach us. Link
• IBM buys expert personal shopper from Fluid to build out Watson’s conversation skills. Link
• American Apparel returns to bankruptcy with deal to sell brand. Link
• Samsung to buy Harman to $8B in cashin bold auto gambit. Link
• Superdry owner surges as label leaves retail rivals trailing. Link
• What President Trump means for retailers. Link
• Kohl’s introduces its own millennial-focused answer to fast fashion. Link
• Kenneth Cole to shut down almost all its brick-and-mortar stores. Link
• Estee Lauder to acquire Too Faced for $1.45B. Link
• Amazon expands Home Services to 20 more cities. Link
• Marks & Spencer to close 60 clothing and home stores. Link
• eCommerce is growing but customers still prefer to shop in stores. Link
• Amazon files lawsuit to keep counterfeit goods off site. Link
• California style is back and making bank. Link
• Fossil is closing stores. Link
• Net-a-porter reveals Reformation collaboration. Link
• Crew is discontinuing its bridal collection. Link
• Lord & Taylor looks to modernize with renovations. Link
• Primark steps up expansion in US. Link
• Burberry profit down 40% as costs rise. Link
• NastyGal petitions to file for bankruptcy. Link
• Wal-Mart boosts online holiday inventory for Black Friday. Link

Marketing/Social

• Instagram introduces shoppable product tags. Link
• Pinterest is adding 15 ad tech companies to beef up its data and measurement game. Link
• Inside Lululemon’s unconventional influencer network. Link
• YouTube is helping to sell a lot of makeup. Link
• What happens when big data meets high fashion. Link
• H&M trades David Beckham for Weekend in push for younger shoppers. Link
• Vogue launches Vogue Arabia, it’s first foray into the 22 countries of the Arab League. Link
• Snapchat’s latest update reveals it grand strategy. Link
• Crowd-sourced products sell better when they’re marketed that way. Link
• CoverGirl adds Muslim beauty blogger as ambassador. Link
• Gap harnesses optimism in holiday ads. Link
• Snapchat delivers mysterious vending bot to sell its spectacles. Link

Startup/Emerging Tech

• Beware, iPhone users: Fake retail apps are surging before holidays. Link
• Fashion startup Farfetch said to plan IPO as soon as 2017. Link
• Online startup Harry’s Razor jumps into Gillette’s turf. Link
• Wayfair expands virtual reality universe with IdeaSpace. Link
• Apple considers wearables expansion with digital glasses. Link

International

• Alibaba doubles down on entertainment with $1.5B fund. Link
• How Alibaba turned China’s Singles’ Day into the world’s biggest shopping bonanza. Link
• Amazon plans to enter Southeast Asia with Singapore launch in Q1 2017. Link
• Julep, Little Red Book partner on China launch. Link
• Alibaba rival JD envisions its own delivery drone fleet by 2017. Link
• Chinese shoppers’ share of global luxury purchases drops 30%. Link
• Alabbar, Saudi PIF to set up $1B ecommerce firm. Link
• Study: Chinese millennials spend big on shopping because they live with their parents. Link
• American Apparel’s UK business goes into administration. Link
• Alibaba shatters Singles’ Day records. Link