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Welcome to 🪩The Digital Runway 🪩 — your go to guide to Fashion, Tech & Trends! 🚀

✨ This week, dive into E.l.f. Beauty + Walmart’s Real World Shopping in Roblox, Fashion Brands showing at Paris Olympics 2024 and Saks + Neiman Marcus $2.3B Merger.👇 Read on for details👇

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🗞️ In this Issue #013

E.l.f. Beauty + Walmart bring Real World Shopping to Roblox

📚 What you need to know

E.l.f. Beauty introduced real-world commerce in its E.l.f. Up! experience on Roblox for US based players 13 and up.

• Powered by Walmart: Purchase physical products from a virtual kiosk, a first for beauty brands, and receive a digital twins.

• Exclusive Offerings: Features limited-edition E.l.f. Up! Pets Hoodie and other cruelty-free items, with digital "virtual twin" versions

• Creator Collaboration: E.l.f. teamed up with Roblox creators to design virtual items available for sale and use in game.

  

  Source: E.l.f. Beauty + Roblox

💡 Why this matters

• Targeting Gen Z: More than half of Rolbox’s 71.5 million daily active users are Gen Z and E.l.f. is strategically targets its core demographic.

• Physical + Digital Shopping: Merging real-world product sales with virtual experiences drives sales in an innovative way.

• Brand + Retailer Partnership: Expect more collaborations between brands and retailers plus gaming platforms.

• The NEW wholesale model = Physical + Digital

Read more on Retail Dive here

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Future Proofing: How Saks and Neiman’s USD $2.65B Merger with Amazon & Salesforce will reshape the future of Luxury Retail

• Tech Powered Innovation: Amazon and Salesforce to take a minority stake in Saks Global driving advancements in analytics and logistics

• Market Dominance: This merger puts 4 retailers (Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off 5th, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman) under one umbrella that puts them in a positioned of power for better vendor negotiations, streamlined supply chain and cost efficiencies.

• Personalized Customer Experience: Leveraging data and analytics for improved ecommerce, loyalty programs and tailored shopping.

The merger has not been approved yet by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Industry analysts anticipate regulatory scrutiny.

Read more on Vogue Business here

Fashion Brands Playing in Paris Olympics 2024

Paris, the luxury fashion capital of the world, is setting the stage transforming the 2024 Olympics into the Global Fashion Runway. The lineup of brands designing for various countries is inspiring and exciting.

7 Fashion Brands to watch:

• Berluti: Team France’s Opening Ceremonies

• J.Lindeberg: Team USA’s Women’s Golf

• Left on Friday: Team Canada’s Women’s Beach Volleyball

• Louis Vuitton: Trunks, House Medals, Torches, Trays for Medals, Medal Bearer Uniforms

• Nike: Team USA’s uniforms

• Ralph Lauren: Team USA’s Opening and Closing Ceremonies

• Skims: Off-duty wear for Team USA

⚡️Takeaway: Major events like the Olympics elevate brand awareness and visibility to a Global Stage. Fashion Brands designing for different countries showcases the intersection of fashion, sports and culture. Sports and Athletes are the next IT group and influencers IMHO. Is Paris elevating the Olympics to a Runway Fashion Show or is this the future of Global Sports?

Read more on Fashionista here

☀️ Summer Vibes are in full force 🫡

As much as I love Digital Innovation that transforms consumer experiences and brands — there’s joy in being present IRL. Extending runway (pun intended) means taking care of our health and fun meter. Looking forward to meeting friends IRL to celebrate a wedding and a mini Hong Kong Reunion!

🪩 I’ve been prepping exciting updates for The Digital Runway and my personal brand. Cleaning up and adding new looks to the closet to share with you all!

Share your thoughts on this week’s news especially on the Paris Olympics. 👀

💬  Hit reply and let me know.

P.S. 🍵 Last week I shared about my love for Matcha and this week I tried making 🍓 Strawberry Matcha after seeing it all over my TikTok feed. Have you tried it?

- Janey

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