Price-fixing agreement: €157 million fine for Gucci, Chloé and Loewe Europe The European Commission has dealt a major blow to the luxury sector by fining Gucci, Chloé and Loewe for price-fixing practices that continued until 2023. The penalty, amounting to 120 million euros, is particularly steep for Gucci (Kering), whose sales fell by 23% in 2024.
Retail Media: Loblaw aims to accelerate in-store with Stratacache Americas During Advertising Week in New York, the Canadian food retailer Loblaw (2024 turnover: 44.8 billion dollars, up by 2.5% year-on-year) announced on October 8,…
Anti-deforestation law: the Commission about to backpedal once again on the Green Deal Europe Adopted with ambition in 2023, the anti-deforestation law was intended to mark a turning point for European manufacturers and retailers using soy, cocoa, coffee or leather. Two years later, Brussels is backpedalling: the traceability platform is not ready and the Commission acknowledges the need to simplify a doctrine deemed unenforceable in its current form.
The Body Shop returns to the U.S.A. with a 100% digital model Americas After closing in the U.S.A. in March 2024, The Body Shop (3,000 stores, 60 countries) made a return to the market on October 7 through an exclusively digital operation.…
Losing momentum, Ulta Beauty launches a marketplace with Mirakl Americas On October 15, the U.S. retailer Ulta Beauty (2024 turnover: 11.2 billion dollars, up by 0.8% after up by 5.7% in 2023,…
Fast fashion: Italy plans to tax Shein, Temu and AliExpress through extended producer responsibility Europe According to a Reuters report published on October 15, Italy is considering imposing additional taxes on Asian fast fashion platforms.…
Agentic Commerce: when ChatGPT disintermediates retail Americas Europe Already launched at Etsy, BigBasket and soon Walmart and Glossier, AI agents allow purchasing a product or service directly within artificial intelligence engines, without leaving the conversation. A strategy explored in France by Carrefour and Groupama, mind Retail learned. Analysis of a shift that raises questions about the role of e-commerce sites, control of transactional data and future dependence on AI platforms.
Live shopping: Asos moves closer to social commerce to compete with TikTok Shop Europe After a successful test in August, the British pure player Asos (2024 turnover: 3.7 billion dollars,…
Serge Papin, former C.E.O. of Cooperative U, appointed Minister Delegate for Trade and SMEs Europe On October 12, during the presentation of Sébastien Lecornu’s new government, Serge Papin was appointed Minister Delegate for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. He succeeds Véronique Louwagie (LR party),…
AI-driven job cuts on the rise in tech sector Americas As leading tech companies ramp up investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and roll out transformation plans to boost its development, layoffs across the sector are increasing. But are the job cuts at firms like Amazon, Microsoft, Accenture, Intel, and Salesforce truly driven by AI? The reality appears more complex.
