Executive Summary

June 22, 2018

• This week’s note “From the Desk of Deborah Weinswig” discusses Amazon’s relatively recent move into the plus-size women’s apparel market.
• According to Reuters, Microsoft is now working on tech that would allow retailers to build checkout-free stores, but instead of installing the technology in its own stores, the company is reportedly in talks about a potential partnership with Walmart to build Amazon Go–like checkout-free stores.
• UK-based Trouva, a curated online marketplace for brick-and-mortar boutiques, has launched in Berlin. Trouva’s platform enables small, independent, offline boutique retailers to sell online.
• Google agreed to a strategic partnership with e-commerce firm JD.com through which Google will purchase $550 million worth of shares in the Chinese firm. The companies said that they would “collaborate on a range of strategic initiatives, including joint development of retail solutions” in Europe, the US and Southeast Asia.