Happy official kick-off to the holiday shopping season!  Here is industry news from the last week with sources found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer

• Neiman Marcus turns to Rent-the-Runway to lure younger shoppers. Link
• Sources say J.Crew considering carving out Madewell. Link
• Amazon files first lawsuit against counterfeit sellers. Link
• This Black Friday, Everlane wants to buy 8,000 helmets for Vietnamese workers. Link
• Anthropologie’s new Anthropologie & Co. in Palo Alto includes a Terrain café with menu by Vetri. Link
• Amazon’s marketplace concept spreads to other retailers. Link
• Target ships online orders from 1,000 of its stores. Link
• NastyGal’s bankruptcy: What went wrong? Link
• Coach, Kors and Kate: The handbag wars. Link
• Target planning hundreds of small stores. Link
• Gap to shut more stores as demand remains sluggish. Link
• Nordstrom takes a big writedown on Trunk Club. Link
• More people than ever will shop online over the holidays, spending to rise by 18%. Link
• Patagonia to donate all Black Friday proceeds to environmental groups. Link
• Fifth Avenue security disruptions will be permanent. Link
• Amazon just turned Black Friday into a month-long event. Link
• Starbucks is selling a $150 smart mug that lets you control the temperature of your coffee. Link
• Fast Retailing CEO not interested in J.Crew, other acquisitions. Link
• Amazon aims for double-digit Christmas growth while WalMart and Target hope for flat sales. Link

Marketing/Social

• How Alibaba turns wealthy shopaholics into marketing squad. Link
• Facebook considering ways to combat fake news. Link
• Snapchat parent files for $25B IPO. Link
• Instagram enters live video fray (and takes on Snapchat). Link
• Facebook says it found more miscalculated metrics. Link
• Forget filling ad breaks; some marketers make the podcasts. Link
• Spectacles finally arrive in NYC with a Central Park Snapbot store. Link
• Acne Studios founder is not down with our celebrity fashion obsession. Link
• Google can now tell you how busy a place is before you arrive. Link
• NBCUniversal invested another $200M in Buzzfeed. Link
• Pinterest debuts Explore, a feature that surfaces trending pins and native videos. Link

Startup/Emerging Tech

• You rarely livestream but 1M people livechill on Houseparty. Link
• Alexa will soon be able to send text messages through AT&T. Link
• McDonald’s plans tech push with heavy focus on mobile. Link
• Virtual reality lets Chinese customers shop Macy’s famed New York store. Link
• Google buys shopping search startup to make images more lucrative. Link
• Sources say Apple abandons development of wireless router. Link
• How predictive AI will change shopping. Link
• Analysts say Playstation VR will be top-selling VR system in 2016. Link

International

• Why Abercrombie is pulling out of Hong Kong. Link
• What US retailers can learn from Alibaba’s record-setting Singles Day. Link
• China’s fashionistas flock to online luxury rentals. Link
• Jeff Bezos invests billions to be top ecommerce player in India. Link
• Alibaba buys a third of Chinese grocery chain. Link
• Facebook to hire 500 new staff in major UK expansion. Link