Auchan Russia is counting on sanctions being lifted to continue trading
Auchan Retail (2023 sales €32.26 billion, down 2% in a year, via 2,354 stores in 12 countries) has ended discussions with Gazprombank concerning the sale of 232 Russian stores, according to...
Malaysian discounter Eco-Shop wants to raise US$200 million for an IPO
On January 20, 2025, preparing for I.P.O. on the Malaysian Stock Exchange by June 2025, Malaysia’s largest discount retailer by sales Eco-Shop (annual revenue of US$510 million to the end of...
Ingka aims to inject €700 million into recycling over the next 5 years
On January 15, Ingka Group (2024 sales: €41.8 billion, down 5.6% year-on-year) announced an investment of €1 billion in recycling infrastructures. The budget allocated to the Circular...
Ahold Delhaize consolidates, with two acquisitions in Belgium and Romania
In Europe, Ahold Delhaize is starting 2025 with a phase of consolidation. In Belgium and Romania, the business is to add 2,000 stores through acquisitions of Delfood and Profi.
17 January 2025
Gifi is entitled to a second chance, but Founder is not
On January 14 2025, the Founder of Gifi (sales of €1.3 billion in the fiscal year of 15 months to December 2023, 700 stores, 17 countries) obtained an agreement from creditors. According to...
Wayfair leaves Germany and makes 750 employees redundant
After laying off 1,650 staff in January 2024, the American furniture DNVB Wayfair (9M 2024 sales: US$8.73 billion, down 1.8%) announced on January 10, a plan to make 750 staff redundant (3% of the...
After Smallable and Wethenew, L’Exception goes under the Hong-Kong flag
Faced with the fragility of the fashion industry, Hong-Kong based fund AA Investments is continuing to acquire assets in difficulty. A latest acquisition is the online concept store L'Exception.
9 January 2025
After 5 years, Alibaba sells off Sun Art supermarkets and loses €1.9 billion
Alibaba Group is continuing a withdrawal from physical retail. After Intime department stores, the giant is selling control of Sun Art supermarkets to Chinese private equity firm DCP Capital for...
9 January 2025
Following the collapse of Big Lots, specialist retail concentrates in the U.S.
In a sluggish U.S. property market, discount furniture retailer Big Lots found a partial buyer. Variety Wholesalers is to take up to 400 stores.
7 January 2025
Following an aborted merger, Albertsons claims US$6 billion from Kroger
The mega-merger between Kroger, the 3rd largest food retailer in the U.S.A. and Albertsons, the 6th largest, , will not go ahead. On December 10, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruled that a...
Alibaba sells Intime department stores and loses US$1.3 billion
On December 16, Alibaba Group (Q3 2024 sales: US$33.7 billion, up 5%) announced the sale of the department store subsidiary Intime, acquired in 2017 for US$2.6 billion. Once approval has been...
The major retail and e-commerce trends of 2025
In a context of sluggish consumption, budgetary and geopolitical uncertainties (U.S.A., Middle East, Ukraine), concentration and financing tensions, retailers are prioritising efficient and...
19 December 2024
Asda obtains a US$196-million loan to postpone debt maturities
Following a US$4 billion refinancing in May 2024, the UK’s third-largest grocery retailer Asda (2023 sales of US$ 27.2 billion+ 7,1 % in a year) obtained a US$196 million loan on December 4...
With 16 new contracts signed in Q3, Shopify continues to focus on key accounts
Off-White, Victoria's Secret, Reebok... long associated with VSEs, Shopify intends to compete with Salesforce, Oracle, Adobe and SAP by setting its sights on major accounts.
4 December 2024
Delivery platforms: After Swiggy, India’s Zomato raises US$1 billion
With the Indian market of express delivery set to reach US$6 billion in 2024, the number of IPOs and capital raisings by delivery platforms is increasing. Following Swiggy and Zepto, Zomato...
3 December 2024
Kohl’s sales plunge 8.8% in Q3, penalised by insufficient private label inventory
American chain Kohl’s (2023 sales 16.6 billion dollars , down by 3.4%, 1,100 stores in 49 states) is going through a difficult period. Quarterly sales to November 2 fell by 8.8%...
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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
Before an IPO, Shein forced to reveal margin erosion in 2025 and impact of US tariff shock
Made public ahead of a Hong Kong listing planned for September, Shein’s financial documents, seen by mind Retail, confirm the shift experienced by the fast-fashion retailer. Despite a 8% sales...
2
O’Boticario rolls out AI diagnostics across 4,000 stores with Haut.ai
On August 18, Brazilian cosmetics retail chain O’Boticario (2025 GMV up by 6.7%) announced the deployment of skin analysis technology provided by Estonian start-up Haut.AI. It will be rolled...
21 August 2026
3
Hugues Chanoine (Hygie31 Digital): “The next step is to eliminate filters to move to 100% conversational search”
The Hygie31 retail group, known for the Lafayette Pharmacies, is continuing to transform its websites, driven by Cocooncenter. Thanks to an AI strategy and a fully redesigned IT architecture, it...
4
ChatGPT: Bureau Vallée’s recipe to capture back-to-school spending
By launching a conversational chatbot with Algolia and a new module converting school lists into e-commerce carts this summer, Bureau Vallée aims to ease the chore of back-to-school supply list...
5
Walmart finally accepts in-store payments with Apple Pay and Google Pay
Sanctioned by financial markets after a sharp US slowdown in Q2, Walmart is reviewing a checkout strategy. Abandoning a rejection of technological giants, the group is rolling out Apple Pay and...
24 August 2026
6
Why Shein emits twice as much CO2 as Inditex for equivalent revenue
On the occasion of an IPO, Shein revealed a carbon footprint of 25.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2025, up by 20% compared to a reference year. For an equivalent sales level, the fast...