Here is your recap of industry headlines from the past week.  As always, sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brands and Retailers

• Starbucks to shut down online store this Fall. Pymnts
• Gap closing hundreds of stores in shift toward Old Navy, Athleta. Bloomberg
• Why Amazon is targeting Europe first for its first trend-driven label. Glossy
• Nike’s iron grip on the sneaker market is slipping. Quartz
• WalMart and Target: Which strategy will win? Retail Dive
• Amazon opens shop inside some Khol’s stores. Retail Dive
• Amazon’s apparel ambitions create tough choices for brands. Retail Dive
• Nordstrom tries on a new look: stores without merchandise. The Wall Street Journal
• Gilt finally pivots away from flash sales. Racked
• Amazon’s new challenge: Making two headquarters seem like one. The Wall Street Journal
• Target slashes prices on thousands of items. Reuters
• Equifax stock tumbles 14% after credit score hack. TechCrunch
• Another top designer leaves J.Crew. Fortune
• Rihanna’s new Fenty beauty line at Sephora expands her business empire. Fortune
• Amazon’s Whole Foods price cut brings 25% jump in shoppers. AdAge
• ASOS launches own-brand beauty line. The Independent
• With a $1,000 price tag, Apple’s iPhone crosses a threshold. The New York Times

Marketing and Social Media

• Coty tries Story’s boutique for hire to showcase ideas. AdAge
• Target kicks off aggressive marketing of new brands. AdAge
• Ad firms enlist OpenSlate to make sure ads run with ‘safe’ YouTube videos. The Wall Street Journal
• Reebok asserts itself as a fashion force at New York Fashion Week. Fast Company
• Facebook under scrutiny for inflated ad reach in US. CNN
• The influence of ‘corpsumers’ who care as much about a brand’s values as its products.  AdWeek
• Retailers add artificial intelligence to their marketing mix.  AdWeek

Startup and Emerging Tech

• Home Depot taps up Google Home for voice ordering. Fortune
• How Rebecca Minkoff uses technology to drive triple-digit sales growth. CNBC
• Venmo is offering users a physical debit card. TechCrunch
• Get ready for a new, much more powerful Apple TV. TechCrunch
• Inside Google’s quest to reinvent chat with machine learning. Fast Company
• How automation is creating a new breed of retail jobs. The Wall Street Journal
• Apple aims to make augmented reality mainstream. The Wall Street Journal

International

• Rebecca Minkoff invests in mobile payment tools like Alipay to attract global customers online. Glossy
• New Zealand unit of TopShop placed in receivership. Business of Fashion
• H&M to open 4 stores in India in September. Live Mint
• Alibaba to open its first brick-and-mortar mall in China. MarketWatch
• Blocked in China, Facebook is said to seek a Shanghai office. New York Times