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[Amazon results] Amazon doubles net margin in 9 months to September and announces record CAPEX for 2024
In Q3 2024, Amazon's sales and profitability exceeded analysts' expectations. The group has managed to maintain the online business and accelerated the strongest P&L contributors, in order to...
Simbe raises US$50 million to deploy computer vision robots
On October 24, U.S. retail tech company Simbe Robotics closed a US$50 million Series C round, led by Goldman Sachs, with investors Eclipse Ventures and Valo Ventures. Its 1.8-meter white robots...
7 November 2024
Retail property: Blackstone strengthens on the U.S. West Coast with a US$4 billion acquisition
On November 6, 2024, U.S. investment fund Blackstone (US$336.1 billion in assets) announced the acquisition of Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (valued at US$2.13 billion) for approximately...
7 November 2024
With US$1.72 billion, Lulu signs the biggest I.P.O. of the year in the Gulf
U.A.E.-based Lulu Retail Holding (2023 sales of US$7.3 billion via 260 supermarkets and 24 malls) raised US$1.72 billion in an initial public offering on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX) on...
6 November 2024
Véronique Discours-Buhot (French Franchise Federation): “We expect a slowdown in franchise openings for 2024”
After a 9% increase in franchised stores last year, the General Delegate of the FFF is anticipating a slowdown in new franchise openings in France in 2024. While BPCE, the leading bank for...
Auchan Retail wants to cut 1,000 jobs in French stores
While Auchan Retail is negotiating the sale of the Russian stores, the company is also due to rationalise French assets. To accompany the reduction in retail space, the group intends to cut 2,389...
5 November 2024
After raising US$27 million and doubling retail clients, Stoïk wants to accelerate in fashion
Ahead of Black Friday, on November 29, Stoïk, a specialist cyber risk insurance solution, signed an agreement with the French Fashion Federation (Fédération Française du...
4 November 2024
Alibaba strengthens payment security for third-party merchants to accelerate B2B growth
A year after acquiring Visable, a B2B e-commerce platform publisher, Alibaba (2023 sales US$130.4 billion, up by 8%) launched Trade Assurance on October, 28. On Alibaba.com B2B platform (the...
[mind Retail Exclusive] Kiabi deploys CrushOn Connect second-hand solution in 70 stores
When availability of second-hand products is a growing challenge for retailers, Kiabi signed up with technology publisher CrushOn, mind Retail has learned. The aim is to streamline the sourcing of...
Auchan Retail to sell Russian stores to Gazprombank
Auchan Retail is in the process of withdrawing from Russia, with the sale of all 232 stores, according to La Lettre. While the company announced that it will remain in Ukraine, it is considering...
[mind Retail Exclusive] 9 months after the launch of customer calls, Etam’s sales conversion jumped between 4 and 7 points
In France, Etam underwear retailer (2023 sales of €480 million, down by 94% in one year, via 860 stores in 57 countries) launched a new initiative at its 317 French stores. Sales staff...
At Marks & Spencer, self-checkout is taking root next to fitting rooms
In the U.K., Marks & Spencer (2023 sales: €15.3 billion, up 9.4% in a year) is installing automatic checkouts, next to the fitting rooms. 28 stores are already equipped, including the...
29 October 2024
Supported by L-Catterton, the Ghost marketplace for overstock raises US$40 million
Californian start-up Ghost raised US$40 million on October 15, 2024, in a Series C round led by L Catterton (LVMH). Investors include Cathay Innovation (which led a US$30 million Series B round in...
28 October 2024
Inditex and UNI Global extend their agreement to digital tools and franchise stores
On October 10, 2024, Inditex signed a renewal of a global agreement with the UNI Global union (165,000 employees in 215 countries), which introduces a new dimension relating to the retail...
[Regulatory] Indonesia, South Africa and Chile join the U.S. in an attempt to curb Shein and Temu
As the European Commission opened formal proceedings against Temu on October 31, global governments are mobilising to defend local economies against Shein, AliExpress and others. While the U.S. is...
South Asia: Mothercare and Reliance Brands create a joint venture
On October 17, the struggling British retailer Mothercare (sales of US$355 million in the fiscal year to March 2024, down by 9% at constant exchange rates after a fall of 13% in 2022) and the...
25 October 2024
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Most viewed articles of the month on mind Retail
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Electronic labels: Hanshow accelerates breakthrough and signs with a leading British retailer
While the leader in electronic labels, Vusion exceeded €1.47 billion in revenue in 2025, rival Hanshow is stepping up a global offensive, winning a strategic account in the U.K. and a new POC for...
27 February 2026
2
Conflicts in the Middle East: what impact on the supply chain and European retail?
With US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggering a major crisis on February 28, 2026, retailers already have to face the closure of strategic trade routes, rising freight costs and import...
3
BNPL: Between healthcare and retail, Scalapay accelerates a P.O.S. offensive with two major signings
Building on a strong foothold in fashion, Scalapay is strengthening in-store penetration targeting players in the healthcare sector. According to our information, the Italian BNPL unicorn has...
25 February 2026
4
Regulatory: With 200,000 Digital Product Passports issued, Darty scales up
While the European Commission is set to vote on delegated acts to specify requirements for home appliances, Darty is accelerating a Digital Product Passport (DPP) push by integrating new products...
11 March 2026
5
Profound raises US$96 million in Series C funding, becoming a first GEO unicorn
Founded in 2024 in New York by James Cadwallader, GEO startup Profound raised US$96 million on February 24, 2026, in a Series C round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, including Sequoia Capital...
25 February 2026
6
Agentic commerce : After Stripe, Mirakl partners with JPMorgan Payments
On March 10, 2026, Mirakl and JPMorgan Payments (JPMP) unveiled a partnership to deploy agentic commerce by combining the Mirakl Nexus agentic orchestration platform with the U.S. bank’s...
16 March 2026