Department stores, with their big brick-and-mortar footprints, generally aren’t considered bastions of cutting-edge technology, and their efforts at innovation, at least in the cultural imagination, seem to have stopped at hiring Don Draper to modernize their advertising. But Saks Fifth Avenue’s parent company’s agreement to buy rival luxury destination Neiman Marcus includes a surprising player: Amazon.

What’s the deal?

• HBC, which owns Saks and its discount little sibling, Saks OFF 5th, confirmed this week that it’s acquiring Neiman Marcus (which also owns fellow high-end retailer Bergdorf Goodman) for $2.65 billion.
• Once the deal closes, the four stores will be combined into a new company, Saks Global, though they’ll continue to operate locations under all four separate brand names.
• Amazon will invest and take a minority stake in the new company. So will Salesforce.

What role will Big Tech play in running luxury stores?

Marc Metrick, who’s currently the head of Saks Fifth Avenue’s online operations and has been tapped to be CEO of the combined company, told Bloomberg that the technology companies will “future-proof” the venerable upscale brands, helping them amass and analyze customer data and improve logistics.

Department stores could use the help: Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and emerged with new owners. Competitors are riding the struggle bus, too. Lord & Taylor also went bankrupt during the pandemic and now operates online only. Macy’s is closing 150 stores.

So, what’s in it for Amazon? The deal gives the everything store, which is America’s largest clothing retailer, a solid foothold in the luxury world. And high fashion tends to have high margins.

Not so fast…the deal is likely to draw the attention of federal antitrust regulators. This time, it probably won’t be over concerns about the power of Big Tech but about luxury consolidation. The Federal Trade Commission recently sued to try to block another merger in the luxury space between Tapestry, which owns Coach and Kate Spade, and Capri Holdings, owner of Versace and Michael Kors.—AR

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Biden sat for a TV interview as big donors try to push him out. Hoping to reset his 2024 campaign after a stumbling debate performance against Donald Trump that reignited concerns about his age, President Joe Biden talked to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in a prime-time interview. Biden dismissed the debate as a “bad night,” telling Stephanopoulos he had a cold and was “exhausted.” But he insisted, “I’m still in good shape.” The stakes were high as Biden, who says he’s staying in the race, was trying to win over not just voters and some members of his party but also major donors. Disney heir Abigail Disney said she won’t fund the Democrats unless and until Biden drops out, and 168 business leaders, including Michael Novogratz and Walmart heir Christy Walton, have reportedly signed a letter urging him to step aside.

There’s another big election looming. And it’s even got red, white, and blue flags: France will vote tomorrow in the second round of the parliamentary election that will determine whether Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally secures a majority to govern. Though the party dominated Round 1, polls show they’re unlikely to secure an outright majority after candidates from other parties started dropping out to avoid splitting votes. The situation is tense: Thirty thousand police officers will be deployed to prevent incidents after multiple candidates reported being attacked on the campaign trail.

🪭 The job market is cooling, but only a little. Hiring and wage growth in the US slowed last month, while the unemployment rate climbed above 4% (to 4.1%) for the first time since 2021. The Labor Department’s latest data drop showed the US added 206,000 jobs in June, a handful more than expected but still fewer than the month before, even after the tally for May was revised downward. For Fed watchers, that slightly bad news is good news, since it bolsters the case for an interest rate cut this fall.

It’s been a rough week for Tesla naysayers: Bears who claimed its stock is overvalued are now biting their tongues, and short sellers are licking their wounds after losing billions. The stock ended the week up 26%, making it Tesla’s longest stretch in the green since last summer. The eight-day streak canceled losses for the year and added over $200 billion to the EV-maker’s value.

But the heat from the trading floor contrasts with the cool temps at Tesla’s stores.

• Tesla revealed this week that it delivered 443,956 cars in Q2, which was more than analysts predicted but almost 5% fewer deliveries than in the same period last year.
• And it’s been making less money per car since EV competition from automakers like Ford and GM has forced Tesla to slash prices.

Musk and Wall Street are bullish

The CEO told short sellers that they’ll soon be “obliterated.”

Musk has been assuring investors that Tesla’s slowing car business isn’t a problem since it’s not really a car company. He’s been touting plans for a self-driving ride-hailing service and the humanoid robot, Optimus, which he claims could boost Tesla’s value to $30 trillion. For now, the company has earmarked $10 billion for AI research in 2024, and Musk has promised a robotaxi reveal in August.

But…analysts say Tesla still needs to jumpstart its EV business to subsidize the R&D. The company plans to release lower-cost car models by early next year in hopes of spurring sales. —SK

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All those Shein and Temu hauls aren’t just taking up tons of space in your closet—they’re also crowding freight airplanes departing from Asia. The CEO of DHL Global Forwarding told the Wall Street Journal that the rapid growth of the two Chinese ultra-cheap e-commerce sites over the past two years has them taking up more than 30% of cargo space on some routes. That’s a big change since it’s usually higher-end items like phones or perishable ones like fish that get shipped via air rather than sea.

And shipping volumes out of Chinese manufacturing hubs have had a significant uptick—driving up prices even as Shein and Temu keep the cost low to you. Last month, cargo prices were up 40%, per the WSJ. It’s got freight companies pushing manufacturers and retailers to lock in space now before the holiday rush begins.