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, comments, (constructive) criticism…please reach out! Have a great week.

Brands and Retailers

• LVMH to take control of Christian Dior in $13.1B deal. New York Times
• Vince says it has ‘substantial doubt’ that it’ll stay in business. Fashionista
• Wal-Mart’s tech incubator hires Rent-the-Runway co-founder. Bloomberg
• Sources say Coach is the likely buyer of Jimmy Choo. Telegraph
• Kit and Ace is closing all of its US, UK and Australia stores. Racked
• Gucci sales jump a record 50% in part due to China, digital. Fashionista and Bloomberg
• Amid brick-and-mortar travails, a tipping point for Amazon in Apparel. New York Times
• Zappos launches line for special needs consumers. Mediapost
• A look inside Reformation’s sustainable Los Angeles factory. Fashionista
• Goop to open first beauty pop-up. WWD
• Crew shakes up management, cuts jobs in bid for profitability. Bloomberg
• Adidas tells us how it plans to catch Nike. GQ
• How BooHoo is beating the rocky American retail market. Digiday
• Next week, Adidas releases a new running shoe made from ocean plastic. Forbes
• As retailers race to close stores, a web startup is opening them. Wall Street Journal
• Gap to source 100% sustainable cotton by 2021. Triple Pundit
• Apple’s stock races ahead as investors bet on new iPhone. New York Times
• L’oreal rounds up bidders for The Body Shop. Business of Fashion

Marketing and Social Media

• Lead by Louis Vuitton, fashion brands storm digital. Adage
• Bloomberg and Twitter announce live broadcasting partnership. Bloomberg
• A new Goop magazine is coming to Conde Nast. Fashionista
• Snapchat’s Discover partners are seeing more views on TV, desktop and mobile. Mashable
• How Under Armour lost its swagger. Business of Fashion
• What marketers can learn about chatbots from pros that have seen early success. Adweek
• How brands are finally cashing in on social with shoppable Instagram stories and snapchat ads. AdWeek

Startup and Emerging Tech

• The robots are coming for your wardrobe. Fast Company
• Dominos delivers its pizza tracker to your IoT devices. Forbes
• This startup’s expansion could pave the way for more innovative retail. Adage
• How Echo Look could feed Amazon’s big data fueled fashion ambitions. Techcrunch
• Amazon’s new Echo aims to answer age-old question: does this look good on me? Wall Street Journal
• Apple is in talks to launch its own Venmo. Recode
• Instagram’s growth speeds up as it hits 700 million users. Techcrunch
• Amazon rival, Boxed, sees narrow inventory as edge. Bloomberg

International

• Online retail growth reflects changing consumption in China. China Daily
• Amazon’s Italian subsidiary under investigation for tax evasion. WWD
• When the name game gets serious in China. Business of Fashion
• Zalando considers brick-and-mortar stores. Business of Fashion
• China’s $1.5B social commerce startup, Pinduoduo, could transform online retail. Business of Fashion
• More Chinese tourists seen traveling to the Middle East.  BBC
• Gogoboi teams up with western ecommerce retailers to sell luxury on WeChat. Jing Daily