Hi there! Here is a Tuesday edition of your weekly industry news recap.  I was traveling for work last week and enjoying my day off yesterday (aka sitting in traffic), so here is a bunch of news I’ve been reading over the past two weeks.  Sources are in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

And I feel obliged to call attention to the fact that there are just SO. MANY. headlines about the “retail apocalypse.”  Think we all get it and are ready for more interesting industry news, right? Here’s hoping.

Brands and Retailers

• Apple thinks its stores can succeed at retail while others are dying. Quartz
• Uniqlo bets on speed to take on Zara for global sales. Business of Fashion
• Crew’s Mickey Drexler admits to big miss on how technology would transform retail. Wall Street Journal
• TaskRabbit’s CEO joins Nordstrom’s board. Fortune
• How Urban Outfitters plans to weather the current US retail draught. Fashionista
• Forever 21 is bringing its new beauty boutique to malls. CNBC
• Burberry cleans up its wardrobe to make way for a new chief. Bloomberg
• Apple’s big event in June could have some hardware surprises. Fortune
• $8M worth of stock destroyed in ASOS warehouse fires. Fashionista
• Farfetch’s North America President on the future of retail. Glossy
• From Pantene to Polo: the new chief executive at Ralph Lauren. New York Times
• Walmart online sales jump 63% on the heels of Amazon. New York Times
• Scott Galloway is bearish on US retailing, sees global opportunities. Forbes
• Nokia and Apple move from courtroom foes to business partners. Wall Street Journal
• Pottery Barn’s big problem: your tiny apartment. Washington Post
• Alice + Olivia goes heavy on experimentation in quest for digital optimization. Glossy
• Amazon’s physical stores may be causing hype byt the digital payoff could be the real story. AdWeek
• Payless to close as many as 408 stores. Wall Street Journal
• Staples rebuffs Cerberus offer, Sycamore still in the running. Bloomberg
• Abercrombie & Fitch posts first quarter loss of $62M. Business of Fashion
• Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger owner PVH beats first-quarter forecasts. Business of Fashion
• This is how Best Buy gets customers into its stores. MarketWatch
• The place where old-fashioned malls are beating Amazon: Small-town America. Washington Post
• Why Nordstrom is opening a New York men’s store before opening a women’s one. Fashionista
• In new era of retail, shuttering all stores isn’t the answer. Retail Dive
• Coach thinks outside the bag. Fortune
• Amazon stock breaks $1,000 for the first time.  CNBC

Marketing and Social Media

• Google adds YouTube to suite of ad tools tracking retail sales. Bloomberg
• Twitter giving brands a new way to promote their chatbots. TechCrunch
• Instagram tests direct response ads in Stories. AdAge
• Instagram rolls out location Stories feature, just like Snapchat’s location Stories feature. Recode
• 50% of Gen Z can’t live without YouTube. AdWeek
• Polaroid eyewear launches global Instagram push. The Drum
• Twitter partners with BBC for live video. Techcrunch
• How Google plans to kill ‘last click attribution.’ AdAge
• Social network, Nextdoor, says it will make tens of millions in revenue this year. Fortune

Startup and Emerging Tech

• The bootmakers who rule the obsessive world of streetwear. Wired
• Everything Google announced at its Google IO event.  Techcrunch
• Web retail startups turn to growth from bricks-and-mortar. Wall Street Journal
• Target is said to invest $75M in bedding startup Casper. Bloomberg
• Away packs capital for retail store expansion. Wall Street Journal
• Google has launched a new AI-focused venture capital program. Seeking Alpha
• Alibaba to lead $1B funding for Chinese food startup. Bloomberg

International

• China’s millennial consumers: what Victoria’s Secret got wrong and Nike got right. Forbes
• Google and the internet in rural India.  New York Times
• UPS forges China joint venture to tap country’s ecommerce boom. Bloomberg
• TopShop Australia enters into administration. NZ Herald
• China’s bicycle renaissance is no boon to biggest producers. Bloomberg
• Google cozies up to China with AI expertise and a game of go. Bloomberg
• Chinese online retailer JD.com is developing heavy-duty delivery drones. Wall Street Journal
• Tencent’s online ad revenues soar as WeChat claims nearly 1 billion user. Jing Daily
• How Coach’s $2.4B Kate Spade deal could boost its market in China. Jing Daily
• China drives Burberry’s sales for fiscal year 2017 ended in March. Jing Daily
• Most Dubai shoppers turn to online retailers for frequent purchases. The National
• Ikea aims to have 30% of products made in India. LiveMint
• Grana, the Everlane of China, gears up for a US launch. Glossy
• Ikea makes 1,300 new jobs in the UK. Retail Gazette
• China’s strength and its shopping lift Alibaba’s results. New York Times