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

• Sears files for bankruptcy. Fast Company
• Luxury labels are going direct to consumer.  Quartz
• Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger are sending a clear signal that Amazon is the future of fashion.  Business Insider
• Rent the Runway and the transformational bliss of renting your work clothes.  The New York Times 
• LVMH shares slide as China concerns linger.  Business of Fashion
• Travelers teams up with Amazon to sell home security kits.  CNN
• Google unveils new hardware, including a tablet-laptop hybrid.  The Wall Street Journal
• Can Knix win the $12B underwear wars?  Fast Company
• Amazon debuts a retail site for Shark Tank products.  TechCrunch
• Alexander Wang and Uniqlo to collaborate on new heat tech underwear.  Fashionista
• Amazon’s Jeff Bezos talks government contracts and Blue Origin Rockets.  Fortune
• Role reversal: grown-up retailers acting like startups and vice versa.  Forbes
• Shopify opens brick-and-mortar space for entrepreneurs in LA.  RetailDive
• Activist investor takes $900M stake in Starbucks.  Forbes
• Walgreens will open 600 medical testing locations in its US stores.  Bloomberg
• ModCloth launches size-inclusive collaboration with Anna Sui.  Glossy

Marketing and Social Media

• Walmart wants to expand video service with HBO, Showtime.  AdAge
• Instagram is testing tapping through posts instead of scrolling.  The Verge
• A new Ikea report is an unsettling look at life in the 21st century.  Fast Company
• How CPG brands and retailers can remain competitive amid seismic change.  AdAge
• Some advertisers are moving half of their search budget from Google to Amazon.  CNBC
• Why brands are creating apps for superfans.  Business of Fashion
• Facebook purges hundreds of “inauthentic” pages and accounts ahead of midterm elections.  Fortune
• Samsung sees smart homes as a gamechanger for loyalty.  MarketingWeek
• Target to test app that recruits neighbors for delivery.  Star Tribune
• PhotoShop is coming to the iPad. AdAge
• New report cites skyrocketing growth of internal agencies.  AdAge

Startup + Emerging Tech + Acquisitions

• AllBirds raises $50M.  Biz Journals
• Walmart continues M&A spree with acquisition of lingerie retailer Bare Necessities.  TechCrunch
• Apple reportedly buys music platform “able to find the next Justin Bieber.” Fast Company 
• Deal expands MedMen’s footprint to more states.  AdAge
• Nike creates Messenger bots for Jordans.  AdWeek
• Six things you need to know about the future of retail.  Wired
• Walmart planning a net-connected shopping cart.  BCC
• Forbes reveals its picks for the next billion-dollar startups.  Forbes
• Meditation app, Inscape, wants to be the Spotify of mindfulness.  Glossy

International

• Google is talking to Flipkart about launching its “shopping” tab in India. Fast Company
• Amazon Fashion to open store in London.  Evening Standard
• How digital tools are helping brands reach Chinese consumers.  South China Morning Post
• Festive shopping drives sales at Amazon India, Flipkart. Economic Times