Sophie Baqué

Chief Editor of mind Retail
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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...
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...
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...
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...
16 October 2026
Latest articles by Sophie Baqué
France, Spain and Portugal: split payment is more popular than deferred payment
According to Floa and Kantar, if payment facilities are growing with a rise of e-commerce, European countries show notable differences. In Germany, the use of deferred payment has tripled in 2022...
14 April 2023
Furniture : Conforama and But launch a joint advertising agency
On Monday April 3rd, the household equipment retailers But and Conforama (Mobilux) announced a joint retail media agency called Retailium Media. They will offer advertisers a...
14 April 2023
Beauty. The Indian unicorn Nykaa continues to grow like crazy
Despite a departure of five senior executives since January 2023, Nykaa expects sales to grow by around 30% in the financial year ended in March 2023. On 5th April, the pure-player (which also...
Walmart: By 2026, 65% of web orders prepared in stores will be automated
While Walmart has managed to increase the weight of online sales in 2022, with total revenue growth keeping pace with inflation, the company is making supply-chain automation a priority. Within 3...
Beauty : L’Oréal adds Aesop to its portfolio of luxury brands
In search of cash, Brazilian beauty retailer Natura & Co had been looking to sell a gold nugget called Aesop since February. L’Oréal (2022 sales of €38.3...
6 April 2023
Etam Group: at Maison 123, the stores are in charge to double ownership of e-wallet loyalty cards
One year after the start of the dematerialisation of the loyalty card with Captain Wallet, the first results are encouraging for the fashion retailer. In 8 months, the value of customers who have...
5 April 2023
Cashback: a successful sales option to relieve pressure on spending
Well-established in English-speaking countries, cashback attracted French consumers in 2022. Driven by inflation and households budget constraints, this option is a marketing lever, allowing...
31 March 2023
Carrefour Brazil. How e-commerce doubled in Q4 2022 with VTEX
Last June, Carrefour’s Brazilian subsidiary launched an omnichannel integration project with VTEX. “The challenge was to serve web orders faster, offering more convenience and agility...
Leroy Merlin wants to give up control in Russia
On 24 March, Adeo announced an intention to “cede control” of 113 Russian Leroy Merlin stores. However, the holding company wants to “keep its hand” in the poker game. The...
28 March 2023
In Dubai, the marketplace Noon is banking on external growth to counter Amazon
In the U.A.E., the marketplace Noon (also selling in Saudi Arabia and Egypt) has finalised the acquisition of the fashion pure-player Namshi (2021 turnover of US$491.6 million) with immediate...
28 March 2023
Couche-Tard consolidates in Europe via a US$3.3 billion buyout
Taking advantage of TotalEnergies' withdrawal from petrol stations, the Canadian company Couche-Tard is filling the space and expanding operations in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and...
Why South Korea has become a springboard for LVMH and Gucci
With luxury purchases of US$325 per capita in 2022, South Koreans are the now the world's largest customers for high-end goods. Whilst luxury sales could fall in the U.S.A. in 2023 due to tensions...
24 March 2023
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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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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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...