WEEKLY INDUSTRY BRIEF: 3.19.2018

Here is your weekly scan of industry news to keep you relevant in your meetings.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline. Cheers!

Brands and Retailers

  • How Adidas is using apps to fuel its commerce ambitions.  Digiday
  • A Manhattan landlord connects with online retail upstarts.  The Wall Street Journal
  • Warby Parker raises $75M.  New York Times
  • Toy makers stare at $11B hole with death of Toys R Us. The Wall Street Journal
  • Linkedin’s $27B challenge: get people to use it more.  The Wall Street Journal
  • Tinder owner Match is suing Bumble over patents.  TechCrunch
  • Retail’s middle ground is a dangerous place.  Bloomberg
  • Blue Apron will start selling its meal kits in stores.  TechCrunch
  • L’oreal enters next phase of digital evolution strategy with acquisition of ModiFace.  Glossy
  • Why data is the most important currency used in commerce today.  Forbes
  • Glossier CEO: Brands of the future will be co-created.  CNN Money
  • Nike president to leave as company reviews improper conduct.  AdAge
  • Chanel’s beauty line is coming to Ulta.  Racked
  • Claire’s files for bankruptcy.  New York Times 

Marketing and Social Media

  • Uncovering Instagram bots with a new kind of detective work. New York Times
  • Google makes new push to turn retailers’ product searches into cash.  CNBC
  • Pinterest expands shopping ads for retailers.  AdAge
  • Rivals chip away at Google’s and Facebook’s U.S. digital ad dominance.  The Wall Street Journal
  • Twitter is working on a camera-first feature that could threaten Snap.  CNBC
  • Amazon preps new attribution tools and courts ad buyers.  Digiday
  • Macy’s launches TV and Instagram in push for women.  AdWeek
  • Adidas designed the silhouette of its latest show with Instagram in mind.  Quartz
  • How a beauty brand raised an army of 30,000 political activists.  Fast Company
  • Rihanna tells fans to throw Snapchat away; shares fall.  The Wall Street Journal
  • Leaked Amazon figures show TV drives millions of Prime signups.  Engadget
  • How Fitbit is trying to reboot its smartwatch effort to appeal to more women.  Fortune
  • The Urban Outfitters guide to winning social media.  Glossy

Startup + Emerging Tech + Acquisitions

  • Zara to lure millennials with augmented reality displays.  Reuters
  • Outdoor Voices raises $34M in latest funding round.  CNBC
  • Say hello to Cora, the new flying taxi from a secretive startup funded by Google’s Larry Page.  Fortune
  • The Skimm raises $12M for its newsletter.  TechCrunch
  • LL Bean cancels Internet of Things project.  The Wall Street Journal
  • VW just gave Tesla a $25B battery shock.  Bloomberg
  • Made.com raises $56M.  TechCrunch

International

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