Happy Monday! Here is a recap of industry news from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brands and Retailers

• Amazon to buy Whole Foods for $13.7B. BBC
• UPS to add delivery surcharge cost for holiday shipments. Wall Street Journal
• Walmart confirms it is buying Bonobos for $310M. Recode
• Nike cuts 2% of workforce. Business of Fashion
• H&M misses sales forecast as fast fashion pressure builds. Business of Fashion
• Inditex posts 18% rise in first quarter profits. Business of Fashion
• Zara sees sales growth due to fresh designs, tech. Bloomberg
• Jet.com will phase out Costco private label products. Bloomberg
• Estee Lauder’s latest investment is in science-based, internet-beloved beauty brand deciem. Fashionista
• Amazon launches Prime Reload, offering 2% back on purchases funded through debit cards. Techcrunch
• Freelance work marketplaces are looking more and more like ecommerce websites. Quartz
• The fast-fashion trend that’s changing how you buy furniture. Fortune
• Why the beauty industry is betting big on supplements. Business of Fashion
• Jessica Alba’s Honest Co. to sell goods on Amazon.com. Fortune
• Our jeans are ruining the planet but this company wants to fix that. Racked
• Best Buy wants you to try gadgets before you buy them. Fortune
• Neiman Marcus ends talk of a possible sale. Wall Street Journal
• GM laying off about 1,000 works amid downturn in passenger car sales. Wall Street Journal

Marketing and Social Media

• Conde Nast inks deal with Farfetch.com; ceases Style.com operations. Business of Fashion
• Time Warner to invest $100M in Snapchat shows, ads. Ad Age
• Fashion ads, a last bastion of print, are going digital. Wall Street Journal
• Vice has raised $450 ahead of a potential IPO. Techcrunch
• Most millennials, especially younger ones, still prefer stores. Retail Dive
• Facebook Messenger takes another shot at Snapchat – this time with a fine-art twist. Fast Company
• Your favorite influencers aren’t writing their own content – these women are. Marie Claire
• Macy’s to revamp loyalty program to keep top shoppers. Wall Street Journal

Startup and Emerging Tech

• Lululemon invests in a cycling apparel startup. Fortune
• Slack’s possible $9B valuation has Amazon and others calling. Forbes
• The future of grocery shopping in stores and online. McKinsey
• Amazon launches a wand with Alexa AI assistant built in. Business Insider
• Why Stackshare is quietly becoming a secret weapon for developers and Silicon Valley CTOs. Techcrunch
• Blue Apron will raise $587M in its IPO, valuing itself close to $3B. Techcrunch
• VCs are valuing Reddit at $1.7B. Fast Company

International

• Fox in talks to open Urban Outfitters stores in Israel. Globes
• India to approve Amazon’s retail food plan. Economic Times
• New own-label brand on the horizon for Next. Retail Gazette
• Alibaba launches new sales channel in Malaysia and Singapore. Reuters