It’s Friday, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail technology space. Here's your briefing on the most important and interesting stories from the past few days.

1. Marco Rubio attacks ‘woke’ Amazon and endorses unionisation push

Republican senator Marco Rubio has backed workers seeking to form the first Amazon union in the US.

The Florida senator, who recently voted against raising the federal minimum wage, slammed Amazon for “waging a war against working class values” in an article published in USA Today.

2. Pinduoduo founder exits board as e-commerce firm surpasses Alibaba

Colin Huang, the founder of Chinese e-commerce group Pinduoduo, has stepped down as Chair to explore “new, long-term opportunities”.

The announcement came as Pinduoduo overtook Alibaba by annual shopper count for the first time, with 788 million people buying on its platform in the past year, compared to 779 million for Alibaba.

3. Online retailer In The Style makes London Stock Exchange debut

Shares in UK-based fast fashion e-tailer In The Style are now trading on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market after its IPO completed earlier this week.

The venture says it is valued at £105 million after strong demand from investors.

4. First Iceland Swift convenience store opens in Newcastle

Iceland has launched a new convenience store format called Swift.

Last year, it registered the Swift trademark with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), leading to speculation that it was working on a same day grocery delivery service.

But the retailer has instead gone down the bricks and mortar route, with the first store opening this week in Newcastle in a 1,700 sq ft converted Iceland unit.

5. Stripe becomes most valuable US unicorn with mega founding round

Online payments provider Stripe has raised $600 million at a $95 billion valuation. 

This cements its position as the most valuable US unicorn, moving it ahead of SpaceX.

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