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

Brands and Retailers

• QVC’s plan to survive Amazon might actually be working.  Bloomberg
• Loft moves into plus sizes in attempt to bolster slumping sales.  Glossy
• Macy’s will be the first major US department store to sell hijabs.  Business of Fashion
• Lululemon CEO resigns after falling short of company’s code of conduct.  Fast Company
• Less selection will define retail in 2018.  Retail Dive
• Estee Lauder targets 5-second attention span in digital makeover. Business of Fashion
• How Target, Kroger and Design Within Reach are tapping tech to improve your shopping trip. Forbes
• Getting your product on shelves at Whole Foods just got harder.  Wall Street Journal
• L.L. Bean to link boots, coats to blockchain. Wall Street Journal
• Booming Costco courts millennials with online and delivery, but stores still rule.  The Seattle Times
• Amazon said to launch delivery service to compete with UPS and FedEx.  TechCrunch
• Coty quarterly profit beats as acquisitions pay off.  Business of Fashion 
• L.L. Bean drops lifetime return policy.  CNN Money
• Retail sales expected to climb as much as 4.4% in 2018.  CNBC
• Amazon is laying off hundred of employees at its Seattle headquarters.  Fortune
• In the wake of Amazon, trophy retail properties fall short.  Forbes

Marketing and Social Media

• Instagram give brands a new way to sell in collection ads.  AdAge
• Snap revenue surges on user growth, advertising gains.  Bloomberg
• Pinterest users are conducting 600 million visual searches per month.  AdWeek
• Birchbox, Revolve test Instagram Collection ads.  MarketingDive
• YouTube usage soars nearly 30%.  MediaPost
• Twitter posts a profit for the first time.  AdAge
• The most successful brands focus on users not buyers. Harvard Business Review 
• Viacom to launch its own streaming service this year.  TechCrunch
• Unilever threatens to pull funds from social media that breeds division.  AdAge
• Brands are becoming accountable for where digital ads show up. The New York Times
• Snapchat starts selling $10+ caption able AR masks for events.  TechCrunch
• The Affluencers: influencers who have actual influence.  The Cut
• Facebook testing down-vote option for flagging abusive comments.  Entrepreneur
• Why you won’t see Olympic-themed McDonald’s commercials this year.  CNN Money

Startup + Emerging Tech + Acquisitions

• Cardlytics up 3% following IPO, raised $70M.  TechCrunch
• Grocery delivery startup Instacart is almost a unicorn.  Fast Company 
• Amazon wants Alexa to be your home’s brain and this could be the next step.  Fast Company

International

• How Tmall is fueling the global growth of China’s fashion designers. Glossy
• Amazon eyes new warehouse in Brazil ecommerce push. Business of Fashion
• How luxury brands sell and celebrate Chinese New Year online. Jing Daily
• Alibaba buys sake in Chinese furniture retailer Easyhome.  South China Morning Post