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.

Google Drops Some Commissions, Launches Recommendation Engine

| Mike O'Brien

Google has been busy on the ecommerce front lately, announcing a plan to drop commission fees for sellers who use its Buy on Google checkout service, while making its pilot-tested product recommendation engine publicly available to let sellers display more personalized offers.

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How Will USPS Policy Changes Impact Shippers and the Agency Itself?

| Mike O'Brien

What do major changes at USPS mean for thousands of businesses that rely on it daily for parcel delivery, as well as giants like UPS, FedEx and Amazon? How will these changes affect SLAs and CSAT? We discuss these issues with Cathy Roberson, founder and president of Logistics Trends and Insights on our latest MCM podcast.

Amazon 3P seller desktop feature

Amazon Requiring Marketplace Sellers to Include Business Name, Address

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon as of Sept. 1 will require third-party sellers in the U.S. to provide their business name and address in their seller profile, a requirement that has been in place for some time in Europe, Japan and Mexico based on government regulations. The benefits to consumers are not entirely clear, ditto the impact on counterfeiting.

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.

Wayfair+2: The Impact of Marketplace Facilitator Laws Gone Wild

| Megan Higgins

Moving forward, one thing is certain: Marketplace facilitator laws will continue to evolve. We’re already seeing some changes in the U.S., with Louisiana going after high-volume 3P sellers during COVID-19. But states are also going to great lengths to pursue lodging and communications platforms and even food delivery services.

FedEx Beats Q4 Expectations, Driven by Massive Surge in Ecommerce

| Mike O'Brien

FedEx surprised to the upside in Q4, its laser focus on ecommerce capabilities in recent years paying off in terms of responsiveness to massive online buying, even as service stumbles were reported in a couple states. It seemed none the worse for having parted ways with Amazon in 2019 to seek more profitable customer relationships.

Amazon for counterfeit legislation piece

Amazon’s Anti-Counterfeit Crimes Unit Includes Former Prosecutors

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon is taking a serious run at counterfeit sellers on its marketplace, with the creation of a Counterfeit Crimes Unit that includes former federal prosecutors, investigators and data analysts. The company said it has limited counterfeit complaints to 0.1% of items listed, but legislators and media investigations have still taken it to task.

Marketplaces Give Brands a Greater Shot at DTC Success

| Daniel Sugarman

Brands are challenged with finding a way forward even when traditional DTC models threaten to crack—and thinking outside the box to find the post-coronavirus formula for success. Fortunately, DTC doesn’t just mean selling on your own site. Here are some of the strong benefits of adding marketplaces to your DTC channel mix.