1. The direct-to-consumer craze is slamming into reality: A gloomy confluence of rising Facebook ad prices, worsening ad measurement, soaring shipping costs, newly-sober public markets, and smaller-than-anticipated customer bases are dealing DTC companies a harsh blow. – Read More on CNBC

2. Kering names Gianfilippo Testa as CEO of Alexander McQueen: Testa – who replaces Emmanuel Gintzburger who will become CEO of Italian fashion house Versace – will be tasked with “accelerating expansion of the British luxury house to tap its full potential,” Kering said in a statement. – Read More on Reuters

3. Can the Death of Skinny Jeans Save Retail? Clothing retailers, whether luxe or low-priced, should be cheering the new look because it is likely to stoke some demand in an industry that badly needs it after a year of being pummeled by the pandemic. – Read More on Bloomberg

4. Amazon Loses Round One of Indian Retail Battle Royale: Amazon is staring at an embarrassing defeat after fighting a drawn-out legal battle to block India’s most valuable firm, Reliance Industries from buying the country’s number two retailer. – Read More on the WSJ

5. New data underscores a slowing e-commerce market: Slowing growth means that it will be harder to grow at prior levels, as outperforming the market segment enough to wow venture capitalists will become more difficult. (But certainly not impossible.) – Read More on TechCrunch