Simon Property, Authentic Brands Make $305M Bid for Brooks Brothers

| Mike O'Brien

A partnership between mall giant Simon Property Group and apparel licensing firm Authentic Brands has made a $305 million bid to acquire the assets and intellectual property of Brooks Brothers out of bankruptcy court, according to various media reports. The partnership, named Sparc LLC, plans to keep at least 125 stores open.

MCM Ecommerce & Marketing 7/29/20

| David Hurwitz

week of 7/29/20 Google Drops Some Commissions, Launches Recommendation Engine Google has been busy on the ecommerce front lately, announcing a plan to drop commission fees for sellers who use … Continue Reading →

3 Signs You’re Misappropriating Your Brand’s Marketing Budget

| Joseph Torrillo

With any investment, you have to assess several economic factors before making a decision to pursue it. The same is true with an investment in SEO. However, most brands lack the comprehensive toolset required to understand and accurately quantify the impact of SEO. Here are 3 major signs that your marketing budget is misaligned.

FedEx Express Adds Robotic Arms to Help Handle Ecommerce Surge

| Mike O'Brien

This month, FedEx Express installed four robotic arms inside a sortation hub in its hometown of Memphis, in response to demands placed on its services in the midst of the massive pandemic-influenced surge in ecommerce orders. Yaskawa America supplied the robotic arms and Plus One provided the software system.

Walmart+ Coming Soon, Cheaper Alternative to Amazon Prime

| Mike O'Brien

After putting it off for four months due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Walmart plans to finally roll out its own $98 a year subscription program this month to challenge the outright dominance of Amazon Prime. It will reportedly include access to Walmart’s new two-hour grocery delivery service, deals and discount gas, Recode reported.

Hits of the Week 7-6-20

| David Hurwitz

week of 7/6/2020 FedEx Beats Q4 Expectations, Driven by Massive Surge in Ecommerce FedEx surprised to the upside in Q4, its laser focus on ecommerce capabilities in recent years paying … Continue Reading →

Postmates Weighing Either IPO or Being Acquired, Possibly by Uber

| Mike O'Brien

Postmates is considering either an IPO or an acquisition by Uber to augment the latter’s own Uber Eats delivery services as its core ride hailing suffers during the pandemic, according to several media reports. The fourth largest U.S. food delivery service has also received a second offer from a special purpose acquisition company.