Executive Summary

• This week’s note “From the Desk of Deborah Weinswig” discusses what US retail sales data and other recent metrics tell us as we enter the holiday homestretch.
• To ship gifts for guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve, Monday was the deadline for FedEx’s ground and home delivery, while Tuesday was the deadline for UPS 3 Day Select. The deadline for free shipping on Amazon orders was also Tuesday.
• French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton announced that it has acquired luxury travel company Belmond for an equity valuation of $2.6 billion in a transaction that puts the latter’s enterprise value at $3.2 billion.
• E-commerce firm JD.com and technology giant Intel have opened a lab in China to explore the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) in retail. The Digitized Retail Joint Lab will build new-age vending machines, media and advertising tools, and technologies for futuristic stores.