Month: March 2019

Weekly Industry Brief: 3.25.2019

Leave a comment

Hey! Thanks for keeping up on industry news with me.  Sources are in the hyperlinked text after the headline. Have a great week!

Brands + Retailers

    • Levi’s shares rose 32% in first day.  The New York Times
    • Everything Apple announced on Monday.  Gizmodo
    • After IPO, Levi’s sets its sights on $10B.  Fortune
    • How Glossier grew into a $1B beauty business.  CNN
    • Ulta is pulling ahead of Sephora and Amazon in battle for beauty shoppers.  Forbes
    • Square takes on Shopify with new micro-merchant tools.  Fast Company
    • CVS is partnering with brands like Medterra to sell CBD products in stores.  AdWeek
    • Madewell is in growth mode. Bloomberg
    • DSW to rebrand in shift to more in-house brands.  The Wall Street Journal
    • WalMart to drop price-matching program.  Dallas News
    • Fast fashion brands have a new threat in the $24B second hand clothing market. CNBC
    • Cannabis retail is here.  RetailDive
    • Neiman Marcus plants its flag in New York’s luxury battleground.  Fortune
    • Charlotte Russe to close all stores, begin liquidation.  Fortune
    • Study finds that most Amazon brands are duds, not disrupters.  Bloomberg
    • Starbucks announces trials for recyclable and compostable cups.  CNBC
    • 74% of consumers go to Amazon when they’re ready to buy something.  CNBC
    • Apple accidentally reveals iPhone upgrade.  Forbes
    • Victoria’s Secret formally returns to swimwear.  Fortune
    • Is Apple saying goodbye to fashion? The New York Times
    • Ikea enters Manhattan with small, urban format.  Curbed
    • Amazon to debut private-label skincare line.  CNBC
    • Hermes to launch skincare and makeup.  Elle

Social Media + Marketing

    • Why social commerce is becoming the ultimate form of advertising for CMO’s. Forbes
    • Pinterest steps up planning for IPO.  The Wall Street Journal
    • Apple unveils its $9.99/month news subscription service.  TechCrunch
    • Snapchat’s private ad market thrills brands but not publishers.  AdAge
    • Amazon is blocking ads for products that lose money.  Fast Company
    • Mobile ads trigger quicker recall, action than you might think.  The Wall Street Journal
    • Ahead of Apple’s video launch, YouTube pulls the plug on its Hollywood dreams. Fast Company
    • Pinterest and Airbnb team up on a Spring and Summer travel guide.  AdWeek
    • Warner Bro’s and Snapchat create first-ever voice-activated AR lens. AdWeek
    • Snapchat inks Foursquare deal to make ads even more targeted.  Inc

Start up + Acquisitions + Emerging Tech

    • Rent the Runway’s new funding round values the company at $1B.  The New York Times
    • McDonald’s bets big on big data with $300M acquisition.  Wired
    • Estee Lauder bets on tech innovation for future growth.  The Wall Street Journal
    • Walmart is using its money-losing personal shopping service start up, Jet Black, to develop AI to compete with Amazon.  The Wall Street Journal
    • Nars bets on virtual try-ons to fuel the in-store experience.  Glossy
    • Robinhood acquires financial newsletter MarketSnacks.  Fortune

International 

    • Uber will reportedly buy its Middle Easter rival, Careem for $3.1B.  Fast Company
    • How Sotheby’s is curating luxury experiences for millennials in Hong Kong.  Jing Daily
    • Yunji, a startup that enables social commerce via WeChat, files for $200M US IPO.  TechCrunch
Advertisement

Weekly Industry Brief: 3.18.2019

Leave a comment

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

Thanks for scanning the headlines with me this week!

Brands + Retailers

  • Walmart letting Sam’s Club follow its own innovation path.  Forbes
  • Amazon launched a beauty line founded by Latvian models.  CNBC
  • Google quietly rolled out a hotel site.  Fortune
  • Adidas CEo sees ecommerce as tremendous opportunity worldwide.  CNBC
  • Shopify embarks on first retail partnership to aid DTC brands in physical stores.  AdAge
  • Target and DTC startups spark overhaul in underwear category.  AdAge
  • Hudson Yards to usher in new era of the mall.  The New York Times 
  • Walmart’s food delivery challenges.  The Wall Street Journal
  • Amazon gets an edge with its secret squad of PhD economists.  CNN
  • This department store takes everything about pop-ups and turns it into retail.  AdWeek
  • Walmart readies introduction of low-priced iPad rival.  Bloomberg
  • Apple fires back at Spotify in escalating app store feud.  Fortune
  • Jelly Belly creator hopes CBD edibles will be his next magic beans.  Fortune
  • How ‘legal fakes’ are challenging $1B brand Supreme.  CNN
  • The recommence secret used by Patagonia and Eileen Fisher.  WWD
  • Revlon loses billion-dollar brand status.  WWD
  • Fashion has a new demand for skilled authenticators.  Glossy
  • Apple brings back iPad Air and revamps mini for first time since 2015.  Bloomberg
  • Amazon expanding offerings for low-income shoppers.  Digiday

Marketing + Social Media

  • Amazon as the influencer platform of the future.  Forbes
  • Facebook’s pivot to messaging puts advertisers in a tight spot.  The Wall Street Journal
  • When Facebook goes down, the economy goes with it.  The Verge
  • Facebook adds Gaming to its main navigation.  TechCrunch
  • Challenger brand success is all about great storytelling.  AdWeek
  • Publishers increasingly want to put their money where Alexa’s mouth is.  AdWeek
  • Shoppable ads offer a new avenue of growth for image-heavy Instagram.  The Wall Street Journal
  • Pinterest forms partnership with Kroger.  Supermarket News
  • These are the top beauty brands dominating Amazon.  Fast Company

Startup + Emerging Tech + Acquisitions

  • Softbank and other investors in talks to invest $1B in Uber’s self-driving car unit.  The Wall Street Journal
  • WeWork labs is launching a food tech accelerator.  TechCrunch
  • Supercharging retail sales with geospatial analytics.  McKinsey
  • How AI helps eBay connect buyers and sellers across 1.2B listings.  VentureBeat
  • ClimaCell bets on IoT for better weather forecasts.  TechCrunch
  • A spate of acquisitions has given workspace company, WeWork, tools to track and optimize office space.  Bloomberg
  • Psychologists explain why at-home exercise machines like Peloton have what it takes to keep people moving.  Recode

International

  • Europe’s biggest online fashion retailer, Zalando, is axing its private label brands.  AdAge
  • Small sees beauty brands bloom with online shops in China.  Glossy
  • Zara to open denim customization pop-ups in three stores in Europe.  Reuters
  • China’s largest streaming site is coming after TikTok.  Bloomberg

Weekly Industry Brief: 3.11.2019

Leave a comment

Hi! I’m back.  Here is a recap of industry news from the last two weeks.  Sources are in the hyperlinked text after the headline. Have a great week!

Brands + Retailers

  • Apple will finally unveil its streaming video service on March 25th.  Engadget
  • AEO, URBN and ANF all had their earnings calls this past week. Catch up on AEO here, URBN here and ANF here.
  • Kith makes its first foray into beauty with Estee Lauder.  Fashionista
  • Digitally native brands on the power of brick and mortar. Retail Dive
  • Neiman Marcus makes progress in debt-restructuring talks.  The Wall Street Journal
  • Foot Locker records strongest sales in company history.  Retail Dive
  • Abercrombie to close up to 40 stores in 2019.  CNBC
  • Amazon’s Project Zero aims to help brands target scammers.  The Wall Street Journal
  • How Amazon took 50% of the commerce market and what it means for the rest of us.  TechCrunch
  • The 10 most valuable fashion brands in the world 2019.  High Snobeity
  • Foot Locker is investing $12.5M in kids’ clothing company Rockets of Awesome.  CNBC
  • West Elm and Rent the Runway parter to rent home home decor.  Business of Fashion
  • Target announces launch of its curated third-party marketplace, Target+. TechCrunch
  • Amazon’s joint health-care venture finally has a name: Haven.  CNBC
  • Office Depot and Alibaba are launching an online store.  Business Insider
  • Amazon to launch new grocery-store business.  The Wall Street Journal
  • Wedding company Zola tries on brick-and-mortar.  AdAge
  • Dollar Shave Club adds deodorant.  AdAge
  • Four takeaways from Shoptalk. Forbes
  • How Trader Joe’s plans to cut 1M pounds of single-use plastic from its stores.  Fast Company
  • Hudson Yards bets $1B a new Manhattan mall can succeed.  Bloomberg

Marketing + Social Media

  • Google announces new shopping ads on Google Images.  Social Media Today
  • After dropping runway fashion, Calvin Klein turns to TikTok  Glossy
  • Pinterest’s new tools turn it into more of a storefront.  Engadget
  • How ad tech is invading physical retail spaces.  AdWeek
  • Head of Luxury at Facebook and Instagram takes what you’ve told them and sells it to a luxury brand.  The New York Times
  • At 21, Kylie Jenner becomes the youngest self-made billionaire ever.  Forbes
  • Dior scores the highest media impact value at Paris Fashion Week over Chanel.  Vogue
  • Nike and Mattel on why the least active generation in history needs physical playtime. Fast Company
  • Barney’s courts younger shoppers with cannabis.  AdAge
  • Tiffany has always been classy. These guys are making it cool.  CNN
  • Online and making thousands at age 4: Meet the kindfluencers. The New York Times

Startup + Emerging Tech + Acquisitions

  • AirBnB just bought HotelTonight in a play for last minute travelers.  Fast Company 
  • 5 female-lead businesses shaking up the fashion tech scene.  Vogue
  • Venmo expanding into everyday retail transactions.  Digiday
  • Walmart buys Israeli product review insight firm Aspectiva.  Reuters
  • How Walmart’s in-house incubator is imagining virtual reality for retail.  AdWeek

International

  • Small-town India is splurging on luxury and here’s what it’s buying.  Quartz
  • China’s authorities propose to keep minors out of live streaming.  TechCrunch