Is this a sign of things to come for Canada's retail darling? Lululemon, the Vancouver-based lifestyle brand and highly successful global retailer, over the weekend pulled its Luon black yoga pants from store shelves after discovering the sheer material was just too sheer, a result, some say, of poor quality control on the company's part. On Monday, the retailer announced it would be pulling various—but unnamed—styles of its popular (and pricey) yoga pants, explaining, “Some of our bottoms were made with a batch of black luon that doesn’t meet our standards so we’ve pulled them from our floors and our website.”

“At lululemon, our most important relationship is with our communities and our guests. We recently learned some information about some product that arrived in our stores and we wanted you to know right away,” according to the retailer's blog post. “We are working with our supplier to replace this fabric and other manufacturers to replenish the affected core items as fast as we can. What that means is there will be a shortage of these styles in our stores and online until our new stock arrives. We are also in conversation with our manufacturing partner to understand what happened during the period this fabric was made.”

The brand said it will offer refunds or exchanges to customers who bought the affected item in March, either online or in stores. Lululemon—which was just named Canada's top retail brand by Interbrand's 2013 Best Retail Brands report—is known for turning around products on short order. "Our guest knows that there's a limited supply, and it creates these fanatical shoppers," CEO Christine Day, a former Starbucks executive, told the Wall Street Journal. But the reported pants issue isn't a calculated sales strategy to boost demand and drive sales.Continue reading...

What do Veronica Mars and Patrick Robinson have in common? Kickstarter—their platform of choice for rebirth.

The power of the crowd just amped up as "Veronica Mars, the single best TV show about a smart-ass teen detective," may finally become a movie thanks to loyal and generous fans.Continue reading...

JCPenney cuts an additional 2,200 jobs and delays stocking Martha Stewart products as judge suggests mediation with Macy's.

McDonald's U.S. sales slip, but less than anticipated.

Disney welcomes new movie-studio chief and big plans for Star Wars franchise.

Adidas is hot on heels of Nike in sportswear in China.

Amazon logs rising revenue from servicing cloud's server needs.

Arby's targets "modern day traditionalists."

Cablevision claims coercion led to deal with Viacom.

Caribou Coffee launches new branding campaign.

Citi passes stress tests.Continue reading...

The UK's Galaxy chocolate has caught some flack for its new TV campaign: a spot featuring actress Audrey Hepburn in a scene from her film Roman Holiday. The actress—who passed in 1993—is captured searching for a digitally inserted Galaxy chocolate bar in her purse and later eating the candy bar in the back of a car.  

The Mars-owned brand's commercial is the latest in a growing number of spots (remember Dior's commercial with Charlize Theron that "co-starred" Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly and Marlene Dietrich?) that have been criticized for using deceased figures, as the latest volley in a growing firestorm over the increasing use of CGI in Hollywood, which includes plans to take more deceased performers' holograms on tour.

Ugh omg they're making Audrey Hepburn sell chocolate?! This is horrifying use of technology :(feedproxy.google.com/~r/Venturebeat…

— Felicia Day (@feliciaday) March 1, 2013

It's also not the first attempt at reviving Hepburn, who has been featured in a controversial Gap commercial as well. While a bit jarring, the technology behind the ads speaks to the incredible accomplishments of visual effects (VFX) artists.Continue reading...

Walmart philanthropic director Sylvia Mathews Burwell expected to be nominated Monday as Obama's budget chief.

India develops a taste for premium beer while officials approve $2 billion Diageo deal.

HSBC set for $23 billion profit as turnaround gains traction.

AB InBev takes to Twitter and newspaper ads to fight watered-down-beer charges.

AIDS drug breakthrough sees infant evidently cured through early use of virus-blocking drugs.

Alfa Romeo reboot marks tough road for Fiat.

American Airlines drops below 60,000 employees for the first time since 1987.

AOL's new Brand Group CEO Susan Lyne lays out her goals.

Asos joins brands using Twitter's Vine for short form social video marketing.Continue reading...

At top, Brad Pitt phones in his new role as Cadillac China spokesman.

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's 10 reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week, the cat cafe... bodyguards... WeChat... Ikea's horse meatballs... Victoria's Secret... HTC... best selling sedans... Hollywood... Yum!... Bradillac and more. Continue reading...

Groupon sacks founder Andrew Mason as CEO.

Gap reports strong sales on increased marketing spending.

Barnes & Noble falls behind in tablet wars.

Ahold plans to roll out more pickup points for Peapod.

Annie's looks to "spread good."

Apple flip-flopped on rule about officers' stock holdings.

Best Buy and founder end talks on ownership deal.

Boeing pares workforce for grounded Dreamliner.

Diageo prepares to buy majority stake in United Spirits.

Disney finds CEO Robert Iger under fire over power and pay.

Domino's Pizza plans to increase national ad spending. Continue reading...

Pope Benedict XVI plans to resign due to poor health in move that hasn't been seen for centuries.

Grammys honors Mumford & Sons and FUN, as Chevrolet bows new "Find New Roads" campaign, Honda launches music-related campaign with the show, and Miracle Whip launches video campaign.

American Airlines and U.S. Airways are seen as likely to obtain U.S. approval of a merger.

Apple sees buzz develop about potential "iWatch."

Cadillac targets 35-percent gain in retail sales this year.

Chrysler donates $1 million to Future Farmers of America after Super Bowl spot scores with viewers as its dealers hunger for more Jeep Wranglers and Grand Cherokees.

Coca-Cola plans to relaunch Vanilla Coke in U.K.Continue reading...