Daily LInks
1. Retailers Seen Closing Thousands of Stores Even After Pandemic: Roughly one in every 11 stores will close in the next five years, with office-supply, sporting-goods and clothing retailers among the hardest hit. In the most dire scenario, more than twice as many stores — about 150,000 in total — could close over that span. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Authentication and StockX’s global arms race against fraudsters: As the key to the community’s trust and the company’s international expansion, StockX reveres themselves most on the constantly evolving process of authentication. Yet even with all its resources and skill, it can’t always get it 100% right. – Read More on TechCrunch
3. Amazon illegally fired employees critical of work conditions, labor board finds: The online retailer last year terminated the employment of Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, who accused the company of enforcing policies in a discriminatory fashion and having vague rules that “chill and restrain” staff from exercising rights, according to their charge filed in October. – Read More on Reuters
4. Amazon’s Labor Unrest May Show at the Margins: Amazon’s opposition to the budding unionization attempt would suggest that it poses a major threat to its business. But the company has never spelled that out as a major risk to shareholders. Its most recent 10-K filing from February mentions “labor or trade disputes” at the bottom of a list of 18 bullet-point items that could impact its operating results. – Read More on the WSJ
5. Dolce & Gabbana CEO denies talks with Kering over possible tie-up: Dolce & Gabbana is not in talks with French luxury group Kering over a possible tie-up, the chief executive of the Italian fashion company said, but did not rule out the possibility of being part of a “broader Italian project” putting together several Italian brands. (As for what that project might be: it could be the budding Milan-based group that is seemingly being built by Moncler chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini, which recently acquired Italian brand Stone Island). – Read More on Reuters
6. Retailers face global supply chain pressures as backlogs continue amid pandemic: The acceleration in online shopping has been a boon for companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and other e-commerce platforms. But consistently high levels of demand led to product shortages and delivery delays throughout much of 2020. – Read More on S&P Global
