Joanna Piacenza

By Joanna Piacenza   Top Stories The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show for 2019 has been canceled, L Brands Inc. announced during its third-quarter earnings call, following negative publicity surrounding the event and falling viewership numbers. Last year’s 3.27 million viewers was the show’s smallest since becoming a holiday season TV event in 2001. (USA Today) […]

By Joanna Piacenza   Top Stories Alphabet Inc.’s Google said it will sharply restrict audience targeting for verified political advertisers, a decision that could transform how campaigns advertise online around the world. In addition to limiting audience targeting to a few categories such as age, gender and location, Google is clarifying its existing rules on […]

By Joanna Piacenza   Top Stories Amazon.com Inc. is planning to open Amazon Go cashierless supermarkets and pop-up stores as soon as the first quarter of 2020, according to a person familiar with the project, with the possibility of licensing its technology to other retailers. The e-commerce giant, which currently has 21 Go convenience stores […]

By Joanna Piacenza   Top Stories Coty Inc. purchased 51 percent of Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics for $600 million, although Jenner will stay on as the face of the brand and to help create new products. The deal values the brand, which brought in roughly $177 million in revenue last year and attracts 7,000 new […]

By Joanna Piacenza   Top Stories TikTok is looking to shed its label as a Chinese social media app and rebrand itself, according to people familiar with the discussions, as the social media company faces mounting scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and regulators. Employees and advisers to the company, which has already minimized Chinese content on […]

By Joanna Piacenza   Top Stories Walmart Inc.’s advertising arm, Walmart Media Group, will launch its first self-serve ad tools and API early next year, according to four agencies and e-commerce ad vendors, in its latest bid to tempt brands and their marketing budgets away from Amazon.com Inc. A Walmart spokesperson confirmed that the company […]

By Joanna Piacenza   Top Stories Walmart Inc. reported its 21st straight quarter of sales growth, with third-quarter comparable sales excluding gas in U.S. stores rising 3.2 percent, compared to analysts’ expectations of a 3.1 percent gain, and the company raised its full-year outlook again. Online U.S. sales jumped 41 percent in the period, as […]

By Joanna Piacenza   Top Stories Nike Inc. said it will stop selling its products on Amazon.com Inc., bringing a two-year pilot program to an end as the athletic brand rethinks its retail strategy. The breakup also follows the hire of former EBay. Inc. CEO John Donahoe as Nike’s new chief executive, signaling that the […]

By Joanna Piacenza   Top Stories Amazon.com Inc. said it will open a grocery store in Los Angeles in 2020, distinct from both its Whole Foods Market chain and its cashier-less Amazon Go stores. Of Amazon’s $232.9 billion in sales last year, $17.2 billion, or 7.4 percent, were from its physical stores, a figure that […]