Top Stories

  • Amazon.com Inc. is closing its Amazon Restaurants food delivery service in the United States on June 24 amid growing competition from companies such as Uber Technologies Inc.’s Uber Eats and Grubhub Inc. Amazon will also shutter Daily Dish, its workplace lunch delivery service, on June 14. (GeekWire)
  • A group of Hudson’s Bay Co. shareholders, led by Chairman Richard Baker and others, who own 57 percent of the company are offering to take it private, as the retailer struggles with lackluster sales hurting the wider department store industry and growing consumer preference for online purchases. The deal values Hudson Bay at $7.12 per share, or a 48 percent premium to the company’s closing share price on Friday. (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Unilever has agreed to purchase luxury skin care brand Tatcha, the latest acquisition in the beauty world meant to attract younger, trendier consumers: Estee Lauder Cos. acquired the brands Becca, Rodin, Le Labo, Glamglow and Too Faced; L’Oreal SA bought CeraVe, Atelier Cologne and It Cosmetics, and Unilever purchased Garancia earlier this year. The purchase was not disclosed, but one analyst estimated that Tatcha had $70 million in sales last year. (Bloomberg)

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Events Calendar (All Times Local)

06/11/2019
Cynopsis Measurement and Data Conference 11:30 am
The Fortune CEO Initiative
Recode’s Code conference
06/12/2019
Recode’s Code conference
DigiMarCon West 2019
06/13/2019
DigiMarCon West 2019
06/17/2019
Forbes’ 2019 Women’s Summit
06/18/2019
Forbes’ 2019 Women’s Summit
View full calendar

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Advertising

As CBD Booms, Facebook Is Quietly Cracking Down On Ads
Bijan Stephen, The Verge

The social media giant doesn’t let you promote posts featuring CBD — and now there’s a lawsuit.

As It Ramps Up In Walgreens, Birchbox Debuts Brand Campaign
Adrianne Pasquarelli, Ad Age

After nine years, the beauty brand is tweaking its strategy.

NBC Looks To Sell ‘Must Hear TV’ Ad Format
Jeanine Poggi, Ad Age

The peacock wants to tap into the sounds of brands to capture viewers’ attention leading into commercial breaks.

Kraft Helps Parents Lie To Kids With ‘Salad Frosting’
Karlene Lukovitz, MediaPost

In its latest gambit to build social engagement in the service of brand awareness and sales, Kraft is giving away samples of its ranch dressing packaged in tubes labeled “salad frosting.”

Red, white and blah: Why are all these 2020 campaign logos so boring?
Avi Selk, The Washington Post

Twenty-three contenders are marching toward the Democratic Party nomination, each boasting they alone can defeat President Trump in 2020, their campaign logos flashing like rival coats of arms across the front lawns and Instagram feeds of battlefield America.

Media and Entertainment

HBO cancels ‘Vice News Tonight’
Miranda Green And Joe Concha, The Hill

HBO is not renewing its nightly news series with Vice News, The Hill has learned.

Esquire Gets New Editor in Chief
Kali Hays, WWD

Hearst Magazines is taking a digital swerve with its choice for the new editor in chief of Esquire.

Raptors See Success With Unorthodox Marketing Structure
Mark J. Burns, Morning Consult

When it comes to establishing and building corporate relationships, the Raptors are doing something different by eliminating two practices that are common not just around the league, but in the broader world of professional sports: sales commission for selling a corporate partnership and a draft process that determines which executives are authorized to sell specific sponsor categories.

Comcast Wants CEO’s 29-Year-Old Son to Own the Future of E-Sports
Christopher Palmeri, Bloomberg Businessweek

Under his father, Brian, Tucker Roberts is fielding teams of professional Overwatch players and investing in the future of gaming.

Social Media and Technology

Apollo Nears Deals to Buy Shutterfly, Snapfish
Cara Lombardo and Miriam Gottfried, The Wall Street Journal

Apollo Global Management LLC is nearing deals to buy Shutterfly Inc. SFLY 2.66% and Snapfish, which the private-equity giant plans to combine to create a big player in online-photo services.

Startups Target Millennials With Social-Investing Apps
Dieter Holger, The Wall Street Journal

The lure: investment products built around themes like clean energy and corporate ethics.

Discord, Where Teens Rule and Parents Fear to Tread
Julie Jargon, The Wall Street Journal

If your teens play videogames, there’s a good chance they’ve found their way to the Discord chat service, or will soon.

Fortnite Emerges As A Social Media Platform For Gen Z
George P. Slefo, Ad Age

A new study suggests that Fortnite has more in common with Facebook than Call of Duty, with the massively popular game emerging as a new kind of social network for a key demographic of younger consumers that brands covet.

Amazon’s new credit card helps you get into debt with your own money
Cale Guthrie Weissman, Fast Company

Have bad credit? Does Amazon have a solution for you (as long as you have the collateral).

Amazon Still Needs Regulatory Approval for Drone Deliveries
Lisa Lacy, Adweek

At its AI event in Las Vegas last week, Amazon executive Jeff Wilke debuted Prime Air’s newest electric drones to much fanfare and said he expected to be “delivering packages via drone to customers within months.”

PR and Marketing

Abortion restrictions hurt business, 180 CEOs say in open letter
Rachel Siegel, The Washington Post

More than 180 CEOs signed an open letter opposing state efforts to restrict reproductive rights, as business leaders weigh how to most effectively exert pressure against abortion bans.

Amazon beats Apple and Google to become the world’s most valuable brand
Lucy Handley, CNBC

Amazon has overtaken Google and Apple to become the world’s most valuable brand at $315.5 billion, according to a ranking of global companies, up 52% on last year.

In bid to get closer to brands, Amazon is building out a subscription box platform
Hilary Milnes, Modern Retail

Matt Meeker, the CEO of Bark, which launched in 2011 with BarkBox, a curated subscription box for dog toys and treats, had Amazon’s subscription accounts team approach him earlier this year, several months after the brand first started selling its dog products on Amazon, to pitch him on a new selling model.

Readerlink Works Toward Higher Offer for Barnes & Noble
Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, The Wall Street Journal

Book distributor hopes to break up Barnes & Noble sale to hedge fund Elliott Management.

CBD company Green Growth Brands is taking over malls, to open 70 shops in Brookfield deal
Lauren Thomas and Angelica LaVito, CNBC

Green Growth Brands will open more than 70 shops selling products infused with cannabidiol, or CBD, at Brookfield Properties’ U.S. malls.

Tyson Foods recalls more than 190,000 pounds of chicken fritters shipped nationwide
Susan Scutti, CNN

Tyson Foods, Inc., has recalled more than 190,000 pounds of Tyson Fully Cooked, Whole Grain Golden Crispy Chicken Chunk Fritters that may be contaminated with hard plastic, the company said in a statement.

Juul Spins Vaping as ‘Criminal Justice’ Issue for Black Lawmakers
Lachlan Markay and Sam Stein, The Daily Beast

The company has embarked on a massive lobbying campaign designed to reach the Congressional Black Caucus.

There are no digitally native luxury brands. Kering wants to retrofit one
Maghan McDowell, Vogue

Kering chief client and digital officer Grégory Boutté wants the company’s brands to take as much ownership of their online flagships as their physical stores.

Tesla, Facing Setbacks and Skeptics, Tries to Get Back on Course
Neal E. Boudette, The New York Times

Tesla’s Model 3 electric sedan was heralded this year by Consumer Reports as the most satisfying car on the market. Then owners started to complain that cars had arrived with cracked windows, leaks or unreliable video screens.

Retail: how bookshops survived the Amazon onslaught
Frederick Studemann, Financial Times

Despite being hit hard by the rise of ecommerce, the book trade believes it has found ways to thrive

‘The next big channel’: Retailers are seeing success with in-home styling services
Danny Parisi, Glossy

Fashion retailers have already caught on to the potential of personal styling services, including the impact they can have on conversion rates, customer acquisition and average customer spend.

Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research

The Biggest Mistake Brands Make With Pride Month Campaigns
Sonia Thompson, Inc.

Too many brands make this mistake while attempting to engage diverse and marginalized communities.

The CEO of the ‘Airbnb of retail’ explains why stores should be run by ‘showmen’ instead of ‘accountants’ in order to survive
Mary Hanbury, Business Insider

Appear Here is an online marketplace that allows landlords to list short-term leases. It’s been described as the “Airbnb of retail.”

Morning Consult