Sophie Baqué
Chief Editor of mind Retail
Most read articles by Sophie Baqué
Eric Meulien, Al Futtaim: “The next step in our roadmap is to replace the in-store POS system”
Operating in 18 countries and managing brands such as Ikea, Zara and Marks & Spencer, Emirati group Al-Futtaim (2025 revenue: US$9.7 billion, up by 6%) has a unique vantage point from which to...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- Analysis
12 October 2026
Marketplaces: How Orange and Virgin Australia reinvent their value creation models
Looking to turn their audience into a commercial platform without having to carry the risk of holding stock, new verticals are entering the marketplace space, with new models designed to enhance...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- News
8 October 2026
AI agents: the KPIs that led L’Oréal to scale up across its warehouses
After testing 7 AI agents in its warehouses, L’Oréal is scaling up. Deployed to coordinate picking waves, manage replenishment and handle stocktaking, Manhattan’s agents have helped cut several...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- News
20 October 2026
Danone turns to AI to personalise marketing campaigns and test advertising in ChatGPT
AI is being rolled out across some marketing activities, while others remain in a testing phase. If campaign automation and personalisation are among the most advanced applications, visibility in...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- Analysis
16 October 2026
Latest articles by Sophie Baqué
India: Reliance Retail steps up fund-raising ahead of possible IPO
While Amazon and Walmart are stepping up investments in India, Reliance Retail Ventures (2022 sales of US$31.7 billion, net margin of 3.5% of sales) raised US$250 million from the New-York based...
- Retail
- News brief
3 October 2023
Bain, GIC: In the face of US-China geopolitical tensions, Vietnam is attracting investors
According to Reuters, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC is in the running to acquire up to a 20% stake in Bach Hoa Xanh supermarkets (sales of US$558 million, up 7% in H1 2023 via 1,700...
- Retail
- News brief
3 October 2023
Tony Sciarrotta, Reverse Logistics Association : “Recycling is always the worst option in terms of value creation”
At a time when the NRF has just acquired the Reverse Logistics Association (RLA), Mind Retail interviewed the Executive Director, Tony Sciarrotta. Between Artificial Intelligence, auctions...
- Retail
- Analysis
29 September 2023
TikTok: Indonesia is about to ban commerce on social networks
Indonesia, the most populated country in South-East Asia (270 million inhabitants), is taking action to limit the risk of the major social networks, such as TikTok, becoming a monopoly. At a...
27 September 2023
[info mind Retail] A third of Shein’s suppliers will not be audited in 2023
With the results of the French DGCCRF investigation expected this Autumn, and the U.S. SEC continuing a survey regarding allegations of forced labor, Shein provided an update on its industrial...
26 September 2023
Generative AI: Amazon to invest up to US$4 billion in Anthropic
The digital cloud giants are not slowing investments in generative AI, which needs massive computing power to function properly. Following Google and a US$300 million investment in Anthropic in...
26 September 2023
Children’s data: TikTok fined US$ 367 million in Ireland
While the European DSA is forcing the platform to be more transparent and protect privacy, the Irish regulator has just punished TikTok for misuse of children's data.
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
- News
26 September 2023
Pierre Fougeat, Lugh (Casino Group): “All platforms combined, €2.5 million of our stablecoin Lugh are in circulation”
Pierre Fougeat, COO of Lugh Financial Services, a subsidiary of Casino Group, presents the Euro stablecoin Lugh. He details the strategy behind this new business.
Valiuz Adz : The Mulliez family’s retailers launch a retail media offering
Auchan (grocery) and Boulanger (home electrical products) are entrusting advertising inventory to Valiuz Adz, the Association Familiale Mulliez's new advertising agency for the French market...
- Retail
- News
22 September 2023
U.K : Primark persists with click & collect
The click & collect service launched for children's wear in more than half of British stores is successful. Primark now extends this service to women's fashion.
22 September 2023
USA: How Walmart and Amazon are embracing generative AI
While companies like Amazon and Apple have reduced access to generative A.I. tools in workplaces, this is not the case for Walmart (net sales of US$314 billion in H1 2023, up by 6.6%). On August...
- Retail
- News brief
16 September 2023
South Africa: Walmart strengthens the team to support digital growth
U.S. giant Walmart is reorganizing the South African business by recruiting Jonathan Collins as Chief Financial Officer, with the aim of boosting online sales.
15 September 2023
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
How retailers are reinventing the checkout
As pressure on household budgets continues, new payment methods including account-to-account (A2A) instant payments, Wero, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), loyalty points and cashback, are gaining...
- Retail
- Special Reports
2 November 2026
Julien Cailleau, Oney: “With 3 retailers, we are testing the use of Valiuz data to streamline financing approvals”
Against a backdrop of growing pressure on household budgets, the European CCD2 Directive coming into force and a new legal framework for assisted purchasing journeys, Oney is stepping up an...
- Retail
- mind Exclusive
- Retail tech
29 October 2026
Advantail signs with Formality to streamline commercial lease management
Amid an ownership shake-up following its acquisition by Evoriel, shopping centre operator Advantail has signed with Formality to digitise the management of commercial leases and contracts across...
23 October 2026
US retailers divided over the rise of autonomous shopping agents
In the US, Gap, Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon and eBay are taking very different approaches to agentic commerce. While TV shopping giants QVC and HSN see these new intermediaries as an opportunity to...
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
- Analysis
21 October 2026
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
Eric Meulien, Al Futtaim: “The next step in our roadmap is to replace the in-store POS system”
Operating in 18 countries and managing brands such as Ikea, Zara and Marks & Spencer, Emirati group Al-Futtaim (2025 revenue: US$9.7 billion, up by 6%) has a unique vantage point from which to...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- Analysis
12 October 2026
2
Marketplaces: How Orange and Virgin Australia reinvent their value creation models
Looking to turn their audience into a commercial platform without having to carry the risk of holding stock, new verticals are entering the marketplace space, with new models designed to enhance...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- News
8 October 2026
3
How Maison A.Constant built a unified customer database with n8n
Eager to bring together customer data and improve data accuracy, jewellery and watch retailer Maison A.Constant built its own Single Customer Repository (SCR) using n8n, an orchestration platform...
7 October 2026
4
Cashback: Younited secures an exclusive contract with Bouygues Telecom
Following Orange and the launch of a marketplace, Bouygues Telecom is strengthening a customer loyalty strategy by focusing on purchasing power with a new cashback offer. For French fintech...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- News
16 October 2026