Weekly Industry Brief: 4.24.2017

Here is a recap of retail and ecommerce industry news from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline. P.S. If you ever have any feedback, let me know! Have a great week.

Brands and Retailers

  • PetsMart is buying Chewy.com for $3.35B in the largest ecommerce acquisition ever. Recode
  • Wal-Mart’s bargain bin ecommerce plan. Bloomberg
  • Pop-up stores shore up rough retail real estate market. Glossy
  • Burberry’s “see now, buy now” strategy is actually working. Fashionista
  • How online is transforming brick-and-mortar retail. New York Times
  • Ikea considering standalone restaurants. Fast Company
  • Primark plans biggest expansion in decades as chain’s sales soar. Bloomberg
  • Alibaba’s Jack Ma predicts decades of social upheaval as internet spreads its disruption. Fortune
  • Wal-Mart buys shoes.com domain for $9M. Retail Dive
  • At luxury stores it isn’t shopping, it’s an experience. Wall Street Journal
  • Macy’s new CEO plans to take on TJ Maxx. CNBC
  • Sears’ march toward bankruptcy: gradually then suddenly. Forbes
  • Bebe closing all stores. Forbes
  • Amazon adding 2,500 new jobs in New Jersey. Inc
  • Amidst backlash, Ivanka Trump clothing is relabeled as Adrienne Vittadini. Business of Fashion
  • Net-a-porter to launch Cartier’s Panthere watch exclusively. WWD

Marketing and Social Media

  • Insider #RevolveFestival, an influencer-filled weekend that dominated the Coachella party scene. Fashionista
  • These natural beauty brands are using big data to give skin care a makeover. Fast Company
  • Google sees another chance to get programmatic TV right. AdAge
  • Mark Zuckerberg outlines Facebook’s AR plans. AdAge
  • Teenage dream: How Urban Outfitters is navigating a rocky retail scene. Refinery 29
  • Victoria’s Secret and Nike rank among top brands for millennials. Bloomberg
  • Amazon launches ‘Subscribe with Amazon,’ a marketplace for digital subscriptions. Techcrunch
  • Meet the Muslim woman who inspired Nike to enter the hijab business. Fast Company
  • Athleta looks to lead market with new sustainability plan. Glossy
  • Madewell is ramping up its denim donation program after a blockbuster Earth Day. Fast Company

Startup and Emerging Tech

  • Paypal signs new Android deal to speak up store checkout. Wall Street Journal
  • A robot-delivery startup helped write state laws that are locking out competition. Recode
  • Spotify is working on its own music hardware. The Verge
  • Amazon forms team to focus on driverless technology. Wall Street Journal
  • Facebook is working on a way to let you type with your brain. The Verge
  • Four ecommerce innovations that WalMart doesn’t own yet. Forbes
  • How in-home package delivery could save ecommerce. Fast Company

International

  • Amazon to launch a presence in Australia. Seattle Times
  • As Flipkart slips, Amazon tightens its grip on the Indian market. Quartz
  • Longchamp sets eyes on China. China Daily
  • Fans of China’s teen stars are crowdsourcing big ad buys to prove their devotion. AdAge
  • Here are six products you can expect to start moving to brick-and-mortar in India. Forbes

Weekly Industry Brief: 4.17.2017

Here is a recap of retail and ecommerce industry news from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline. P.S. If you ever have any feedback, let me know! Have a great week.

Brands and Retailers

  • Amazon will account for half of all ecommerce sales by 2021. Fortune
  • Inside Farfetch’s store of the future. Business of Fashion
  • Wal-Mart is reportedly about to buy Bonobos. Business Insider
  • Neiman Marcus finds even wealthy shoppers want better deals. Wall Street Journal
  • Google makes Nevada land grab for data center. Wall Street Journal
  • Retail sales in US declined for a second month in March. Bloomberg
  • Three big insights for fashion brands looking to compete with Amazon. Glossy
  • Home Depot now makes $5B online, but a stellar store experience remains its top priority. Adweek
  • Canada Goose could triple its revenue over the next five years. CNBC
  • Wal-Mart offers deals for click-and-collect customers. CNBC
  • Imagining the store of the future. New York Times
  • How retailers are thriving despite the supposed death of their industry. Entrepreneur
  • Wal-Mart eliminates more corporate jobs. Business of Fashion
  • Jeff Koons’ new line with Louis Vuitton. New York Times
  • At Lord & Taylor, the Bobbi Brown lifestyle in a shop. WWD
  • Prada’s turnaround plan: fewer stores, more ecommerce. Glossy
  • Crate & Barrel CEO out after less than two years. Chicago Tribune
  • The Body Shop attracts bids from 15 suitors. Business of Fashion
  • Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing’s profit increases amid global expansion. Business of Fashion
  • Is American retail at a historic tipping point? New York Times
  • Jeff Bezos outlines his methods for high velocity decision making. Quartz
  • Theory introduces garment recycling program. WWD
  • Rue 21 closing hundreds of stores amid lender talks. WWD
  • Specialty retailer South Moon Under gets funding to fuel growth. WWD

Marketing and Social Media

  • Millennials may prefer stores, by 20% of apparel purchases are online. WWD
  • How messaging is transforming the customer experience. WWD
  • Facebook messenger is now twice the size of Instagram. Recode
  • Influencer marketing: an opportunity slipping through our fingers. Adweek
  • Instagram now lets you organize bookmarks into private collections. Techcrunch
  • Snap wants to help brands track when ads drive people to locations. Wall Street Journal
  • Google is trying to turn Image Search into a shopping tool. Recode
  • Instagram stories is finally bigger than Snapchat after copying many of its features. Adweek
  • Yext finishes the day up 21% as IPO window remains wide open. Techcrunch

Startup and Emerging Tech

  • Glossier is poised to hire nearly 300 new employees in New York. Fashionista
  • Apple secures permit to test autonomous vehicles in California. Wall Street Journal
  • Purple, a Utah mattress startup you’ve probably never heard of, is on track to unicorndom. Techcrunch
  • How P.E. Nation is tapping into today’s active-meets-streetwear zeitgeist. Glossy
  • Reformation’s first-ever swim collection has arrived. Fashionista
  • Inside Stitch Fix’s experiment to design clothing with an algorithm. Glossy
  • Indochino’s made-to-measure suits are coming to a city near you. Bloomberg
  • Samsung to delay launch of English-language version of virtual assistant. Wall Street Journal

International

  • Contemporary fashion replaces luxury amid Hong Kong downturn. South China Morning Post
  • US children’s brand Carter’s to open 200 stores in China. China Daily
  • Amazon Prime’s popularity grows in India. Live Mint
  • Acne ramps up Asia, kickstarts “less is more” denim approach. WWD
  • Juicy Couture to close all stores in the UK. Telegraph
  • How China won the race to being considered a mobile-first commerce nation. Forbes
  • Starbucks extends health coverage to workers’ parents in China. Bloomberg
  • Dior seeking millions from ‘network’ of Chinese knock-off sites. WWD

Weekly Industry Brief: 4.10.2017

Here is a recap of retail and ecommerce industry news from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline. Cheers!

Brands and Retailers

  • H&M pledges to use 100% sustainable materials by 2030. WWD
  • ‘Same-store sales’ is retail’s increasingly irrelevant metric. Forbes
  • America’s retailers are closing stores faster than ever. Business of Fashion
  • Why Amazon is trying to convince CPG giants to go direct to consumer. Forbes
  • Big returns in hassle-free returns. Forbes
  • LVMH sales rise 15%, beating estimates. Business of Fashion
  • Staples explores sale after failed Office Depot deal. The Wall Street Journal
  • Amid the “retail apocalypse” beauty stores are thriving. Quartz
  • Ralph Lauren to close flagship Fifth Avenue store, cut jobs. Business of Fashion
  • Etsy heralds congressional caucus on micro business. EcommerceBytes
  • A new generation of even faster fashion is leaving H&M and Zara in the dust. Quartz
  • The Jenna Lyons era at J.Crew comes to an end. New York Times
  • H&M tries on multiple personalities to keep growing. Bloomberg
  • SoulCycle sold fans on fitness, now it’s cashing in on clothes. Racked
  • Walmart thinks it has four strategic advantages over Amazon. Business Insider
  • Amazon plans to hire 30,000 part time employees. Fortune
  • Online retailers’ new warehouses heat up local job markets. The Wall Street Journal
  • Stores take flight from Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. New York Times
  • HHGregg to close all stores after failing to find a buyer. IndyStar

Marketing and Social Media

  • Twitter lets brands use location data in direct messages. Venture Beat
  • Amazon will stream Thursday night NFL games this year. Recode
  • Which luxury brands are reaching millennial shoppers? Huffington Post
  • Brands are capitalizing on Coachella before the festival even begins. Fashionista
  • Google brings fake news fact-checking to search results. Bloomberg
  • YouTube will no longer allow creators to make money until they reach 10,000 views. The Verge
  • Here is how much top influencers can make on Instagram and YouTube. Forbes
  • Zappos rolls out traveling experiential marketing event. MediaPost
  • YouTube TV launches live service in major markets. Seeking Alpha
  • Prepare to be inspired by SoulCylce’s first major marketing campaign. AdWeek

Startup and Emerging Tech

  • Adidas to mass produce 3D-printed shoe with Silicon Valley start-up. Reuters
  • Canada tries to turn its A.I ideas into dollars. New York Times
  • Apple Pay promised to make plastic obsolete; then came way shoppers and confused clerks. The Wall Street Journal
  • Interactive magic mirrors are changing how we see ourselves – and shop. Fast Company
  • Why regional fashion incubators outside of New York and LA matter. Fashionista

International

  • Tory Burch opens flagship store on Regent Street in London. Retail Gazette
  • India’s Flipkart raises $1.4B in biggest ever funding round. Business of Fashion
  • Why China is leading us to the future of commerce. Forbes
  • What Flipkart stands to gain against Amazon if it merges with Snapdeal. Quartz
  • Can Li & Fung recast itself to catch up with the internet age? South China Morning Post
  • Walmart grocery pickup coming to Canada. Canadian Grocer
  • Amazon takes voice battle with Apple TV outside the US. Bloomberg
  • Zara’s new Madrid store challenges Corte Ingles in retail tussle. Bloomberg
  • India’s malls make changes to stay competitive. Economic Times

Weekly Industry Brief: 4.3.2017

Every Monday I collect and publish the retail industry headlines from around the web over the last week for easy scanning purposes.  Hope it helps. Sources are in the hyperlinked text after the headline. Enjoy!

Brands and Retailers

  • Spanx goes after bras. WWD
  • Amazon launches Amazon Cash, a way to shop its site without a bank card. Techcrunch
  • Jenna Lyons out after 26 years at J.Crew. Fashionista
  • VF Corp. in reshaping mode; focus on consumer and retail. WWD
  • The winners and losers in a Coach-Kate Spade acquisition. Digiday
  • How Warby Parker’s success beat their own expectations. Bloomberg
  • Coty just signed a deal to grow Burberry’s beauty business. Fortune
  • Verizon announces new name brand for AOL and Yahoo: Oath. New York Times
  • Nike’s Soho flagship leads transformational charge into the future of sports retail. Stores
  • UPS rolling out Saturday ground deliveries nationwide. Consumerist
  • Why investors are so keen on Amazon. The Economist
  • How ecommerce is making stores relevant again. Fortune
  • Bergdorf Goodman’s chief to step down as parent Neiman seeks sale. Bloomberg
  • North Face owner VF needs a new mega-deal. Here’s why it’s taking so long. Fortune
  • H&M is launching a new brand called Arket. Fashionista
  • As retailers close stores, the world’s third-largest apparel player, Uniqlo, takes another run at the US. CNBC
  • Lululemon investors see red as company cites lack of colorful clothing. Wall Street Journal
  • Luxury-goods companies are belatedly trying to go digital. The Economist

Marketing and Social Media

  • Revolve Social Club to open doors to public for festival style pop-up. WWD
  • Amazon wants influencers for new shop program. WWD
  • How Generation Z is transforming the shopping experience. Retail Dive
  • How the Instagram look gave rise to a new makeup artist. Glossy
  • Snapchat makes it possible to search for Stories by keywords. MarketingLand
  • Clique Media Group launches new vertical inspired by a surge in wellness traffic. Glossy
  • Alice + Olivia launches private Instagram for top consumers. Glossy
  • Pinterest sets focus on small businesses to propel revenue growth. Adage
  • J&J and Verizon join major marketers suspending YouTube advertising. Adage
  • Forever 21 pushes low-priced concept. WWD
  • Amazon quietly launches its own social media influencers program into beta. Techcrunch
  • To take on Netflix, Hollywood studios are planning ‘premium’ videos on demand. Wall Street Journal
  • Adidas All Day app aims to help you stay fit and eat healthy. Engadget
  • Chase had ads on 400,000 sites. Then on just 5,000. Same results. New York Times
  • Lululemon will target millennials with its first-ever global ad campaign. Fashionista

Startup and Emerging Tech

  • Amazon Prime Air drone completes its first US public delivery. CNet
  • Glossier is launching perfume and sunscreen. Vogue
  • HTC is launching its VR app subscription service at $7 per month. Techcrunch
  • Inside retail’s live chat revolution. Forbes
  • L’oreal’s technology incubator is creating the future of beauty. New York Times
  • Starbucks is going to try out a mobile order only store. Techcrunch
  • Goop enters the $37M nutritional supplements industry. Fast Company
  • Dominos will deliver pizza by robot in Europe. Newsweek
  • The spiral of Spring’s great mobile experiment. Glossy

International

  • Amazon buys Middle Eastern online marketplace, Souq.com. Bloomberg
  • The real reason Chinese millennials are super consumers. Forbes
  • Wal-Mart okay with selling only made-in-India products says India CEO. The Times of India
  • More Chinese consumers say no to fake goods. Wall Street Journal
  • With Reebok expansion, Adidas challenges Nike in China. Business of Fashion