Startups

Wal-Mart has joined a growing list of retailers issuing calls for a few good startups to help solve some sticky technology problems and create more compelling shopping experiences. The world’s largest retailer is hosting an open call, inviting startups to its Bentonville, Ark. headquarters to pitch to top executives. The program is being led by Wal-Mart’s Lab…

CVS has invested in Curbside, a Silicon Valley startup that allows shoppers to order products online and pick up their orders from a local store without leaving their car. The drugstore chain and the startup have been working together since last year, when they launched a pilot test in three cities that now encompasses 350…

Alexis Maybank, one of the founders of Gilt Groupe (recently acquired by the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue), has a new startup in the world of fashion and shopping — Project September. Maybank says her aim is to “make the visual world shoppable.” In other words, if you see a photo with an item of clothing…

In the race to reinvent Craigslist for mobile phones, there have been no less than half-a-dozen companies that have emerged in the last two years to create the next local marketplace. All of them offer the same basic experience, allowing users in close proximity with one another to connect through an app to buy and…

In episode 24 of Total Retail Talks, Vijay Ramani, co-founder and CEO of Totspot, a resale shopping app for clothes and accessories for the entire family, discusses why the startup business opted for a mobile app marketplace rather than a traditional e-commerce site as well as the company's plans for its recently secured $1.5 million in…

Sticking the My UV Skin patch on your arm is a cinch. It's as simple as applying a Band-Aid or a nicotine patch. There's one crucial difference: This personalized sun protection device has five layers of micron-thin electronics, including near field communication capabilities. But the creators of this particular wearable would just as soon you didn't…

Honest Company, the consumer products retailer from Jessica Alba that started by selling diapers online, is working with bankers on an IPO, according to a source familiar with the process. Whether the company makes it out into the public market, and how investors value it along the way, will likely be a barometer for what…

In the fourth quarter of last year, I sent a list of questions to four leading venture capitalists &

Dov Charney may not be where he wants to be, back at the helm of American Apparel, but that doesn't mean that he's out of the retail game. The ousted founder of the basics chain is launching his own label — and it sounds pretty familiar. His new company is a "basics brand for men…

Birchbox Inc., a startup that sells subscriptions for personalized beauty samples, said it’s cutting 15 percent of staff and suspending operations in Canada. The cutbacks, which affect 45 people out of a staff of 300, are the latest sign that technology startups are struggling to create sustainable businesses as venture funding begins to cool.