WSJ: Amazon to open new U.S. grocery chain separate from Whole Foods

A report from The Wall St. Journal today claims Amazon is preparing to open a new chain of grocery stores across the U.S. that won’t be associated with Whole Foods. The retailer is expected to open the first of these stores in L.A., possibly by the end of 2019, and has signed leases for at […]

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eBay announces plans for new strategic initiatives under pressure from investors

In January, eBay received a strongly worded letter from activist investors Elliott Management, outlining a way forward for the company that Elliott saw as floundering. Two weeks ago, the company announced it was restructuring operations and laying off some of its workers. Today, the company announced further steps toward reorganizing, much of which sounds straight […]

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Amazon stops selling stick-on Dash buttons

Amazon has confirmed it’s retired physical stick-on Dash buttons from sale — in favor of virtual alternatives that let Prime Members tap a digital button to reorder a staple product. It also points to its Dash Replenishment service — which offers an API for device makers wanting to build Internet connected appliances that can automatically […]

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JD.com shares take off despite slowing revenue growth

Shares of JD.com, the Chinese e-commerce service that rivals Alibaba, are on the rise today after the online retailer announced better than expected results for Q4 2018, bucking uncertainty around tech companies in China. The company reported net revenue of RMB 134.8 billion ($219.6 billion) for the final quarter of last year. Despite representing the […]

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Amazon Prime members can choose a weekly delivery date with launch of ‘Amazon Day’

Amazon this morning launched a new delivery option for Prime members that will allow them to control when their orders arrive, Amazon Day. The option lets shoppers pick a day of the week to take delivery of their recent orders. The boxes arrive together on the selected Amazon Day in fewer boxes, the company says, […]

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Vision Fund startups Fanatics and Coupang unite to sell US sports merch in Korea

SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son has repeatedly described the Vision Fund as a club for the world’s most exciting startups and, while even the fund’s own LP seem to disagree with some of its investment thesis, its portfolio companies do frequently come together. The latest Vision Fund partnership pairs two e-commerce firms in opposite corners of […]

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Mirakl raises $70 million to manage the marketplace of your e-commerce website

French startup Mirakl raised a $70 million funding round. Bain Capital is leading the round with existing investors 83North, Felix Capital and Elaia Partners also participating. If you’ve bought a few products from a third-party seller on an e-commerce website that isn’t Amazon or Alibaba, chances are you’ve used Mirakl in the past. The company […]

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NetEase is the latest Chinese tech giant to lay off a big chunk of its staff

NetEase, China’s second-biggest online games publisher with a growing ecommerce segment, is laying off a significant number of its employees, adding to a list of Chinese tech giants that have shed staff following the Lunar New Year. A NetEase employee who was recently let go confirmed with TechCrunch that the company had fired a large […]

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Coterie, a young New York startup, promises to deliver charming party kits to your doorstep (though shhh, we won’t tell your guests)

Party planning can be fun if you have the time for it and happen to know what you’re doing. For the rest of us, it can be a daunting, time-consuming endeavor, one that requires visits to numerous websites, in-store visits when those products invariably don’t arrive in time, then return visits to pick up those […]

View More Coterie, a young New York startup, promises to deliver charming party kits to your doorstep (though shhh, we won’t tell your guests)

Coterie, a young New York startup, promises to deliver charming party kits to your doorstep (though shhh, we won’t tell your guests)

Party planning can be fun if you have the time for it and happen to know what you’re doing. For the rest of us, it can be a daunting, time-consuming endeavor, one that requires visits to numerous websites, in-store visits when those products invariably don’t arrive in time, then return visits to pick up those […]

View More Coterie, a young New York startup, promises to deliver charming party kits to your doorstep (though shhh, we won’t tell your guests)

Facebook wants up to 30% of fan subscriptions vs Patreon’s 5%

Facebook will drive a hard bargain with influencers and artists judging by the terms of service for the social network’s Patreon-like Fan Subscriptions feature that lets people pay a monthly fee for access to a creator’s exclusive content. The policy document attained by TechCrunch shows Facebook plans to take up to a 30 percent cut […]

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Foot Locker takes a minority stake in kids clothing subscription service Rockets of Awesome

Foot Locker is taking a stake in the subscription-based shopping service, Rockets of Awesome – a startup that’s something of a “StitchFix for kids,” in that it sends out a personalized selection of children’s apparel in seasonal boxes, shipped to customers’ homes. The companies announced today that Foot Locker has made a $12.5 million minority […]

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