Sophie Baqué

In Europe, the consolidation move continues amongst supermarkets. On August 3, Auchan Retail announced the purchase of 489 Dia stores (Minipreço and Mais Perto banners) plus 3 warehouses in...

In the retail sector, the average electricity bill before the Ukraine crisis ranged from €20,000 a year for a specialist store, €80,000 a year for a supermarket and €500,000 a year...

After scaling back operations in the U.K., Brazil and Japan, Walmart is strengthening control over Indian online retailer Flipkart. On July 30, 2023, the firm invested US$1.4 billion, buying the...

In the early 2000s, self-checkout (SCO) systems were introduced in France at Auchan and Casino, and in the U.S.A. at Kroger and Costco, operated by IBM Retail. Today, Intermarché has 1,600...

At Decathlon Belgium, the “We Play Circular” rental system is gaining ground. Launched initially with 70 families and two stores (Brussels and Antwerp), the second stage began in May...

TikTok (1.17 billion users by June 2023) is opening an e-commerce business in the U.S.A. Ranging from clothing to electronic equipment, the “Made in China” offer is available directly...

Faced with a slowdown in sales and concentration in the sector, Decathlon (turnover of €15.4 billion in 2022, up 12% including 16.8% online) is pulling out the heavy artillery. In mid-July...

After Zalando, it is now the turn of Amazon (2022 sales: US$514 billion) to claim the firm has been “unfairly targeted” by the E.U. and the rules laid down to prevent systemic risks...

On 19 July, the leading Japanese retailer Aeon (turnover of US$16.6 billion in Q1 2023, up by 5% in one year) received a US$41 million loan from JBIC and Mizuho Bank to expand in southern Vietnam...

On 17 July, Harrods announced the evolution of “The Residence” concept (launched in 2020) with the creation of a private club for ultra-rich customers. The company’s first...

Sonepar, the world's largest electrical equipment retailer, has announced investments of €2 billion in supply chain and €1 billion in an international digital platform. Jeremie Profeta, C.T.O. and...

In the U.K., rising prices are reducing consumer purchasing power. According to Foxinteligence, the average number of items per e-commerce basket fell  from 3.1 a year ago to 2.8 in June...