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Facing pressure from China’s JD.com, Kretinsky launches a takeover bid on Fnac-Darty

On January 26, Fnac Darty (unaudited 2025 revenue: €10.3 billion, up by 0.7% on a like-for-like basis) announced the launch of a public takeover bid by Daniel Kretinsky. The Czech billionaire...

28 January 2026

USA : Amazon ordered to pay US$1.28 billion for disputed customer returns

On January 23, 2026, preparing to lose 16,000 staff, Amazon agreed to pay US$309 million as part of a judicial settlement related to a returns policy, which has been the subject of a class action...

28 January 2026

After acquiring Salomon, Anta sets sights on Puma

On January 27, Anta Sports Products (H1 2025 revenue: RMB 38.5 billion, up by 14.3%) reported plans to acquire Puma from Artemis, the investment holding company of the Pinault family, which also...

27 January 2026

Ahead of an I.P.O., OpenAI tests advertising on ChatGPT in the U.S.A.

In mid-January, OpenAI (2024 revenue: 3.7 billion dollars, up by 130% in a year) announced the launch of advertising on ChatGPT from February 2026 in the U.S.A. Sponsored ads will appear for users...

23 January 2026

Faume expands into the U.S.A. via a partnership with logistics provider Eren Recondition

As Vinted launched a platform in the U.S.A. last November, French white-label second-hand specialist Faume (2025 revenue: 3.2 million euros, up by 40% in a year) announced expansion into the...

23 January 2026

Picnic plans to open a 3rd warehouse in France

To support growth, the Dutch online grocery retailer Picnic (global revenue 2025 : 1.5 billion euros, up by 25%) continues to concentrate their logistics network. In France, revenue was reported...

23 January 2026

Agentic commerce : PayPal strengthens with the acquisition of Cymbio

Major technology and payment players are restructuring and standardising protocols necessary for agentic commerce. They are also taking initiatives so retailers can interact with the platforms...

22 January 2026

Spangle AI raises US$15 million to ensure continuity in e-commerce navigation

The US start-up Spangle AI raised US$15 million in a Series A round on January 8, 2026, led by NewRoad Capital Partners. This brings total funding to US$21 million for a valuation of US$100...

16 January 2026

After closing all stores, Topshop relaunches offline and online with Shopify

On January 15, the British fashion retailer Topshop announced the launch of an e-commerce website (eu.topshop.com) across 23 European countries including France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The...

16 January 2026

Black Friday: Amazon’s AI assistant Rufus featured in 38% of sessions in the US

While peak season sales, revealed at the NRF Big Show, rose by 4.1% in the US from November 1 to December 31, 2025, Rufus, Amazon’s conversational chatbot, confirmed its traction. During the...

15 January 2026

While Europe weakens Omnibus, China structures a climate reporting

At the end of December 2025, China published a first national climate reporting standard for companies. The Corporate Sustainable Disclosure Standard Climate Standard was developed by the Ministry...

12 January 2026

To compete with Autone, Syrup and Global-E, Swap raises US$100 million

The London-based shipping and inventory management platform Swap, founded in 2022, raised US$100 million in a Series C round on January 7, 2026. Led by DST Global and ICONIQ, the funding follows a...

12 January 2026

Ocado: why the automation giant is ending exclusivity contracts

On December 30, the British e-grocer and automated warehouse specialist Ocado (2024 turnover: €3.7 billion, up by 14.1% year-on-year) announced the end of national exclusivity clauses with...

12 January 2026

Saks Global negotiating new loan to overcome post-Neiman Marcus fallout

On reprieve until the end of January 2026 after missing a US$100 million bond payment on December 30, the U.S. department store retailer Saks Global (2024 revenue: US$7.3 billion dollars, down by...

8 January 2026

China bans JD.com, Alibaba and Meituan from forcing promotions

On January 7 2026, China published new regulations banning the country’s major e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba from forcing merchants to apply promotions. These measures, which will...

8 January 2026

Cyberattack: Coupang targeted by investor lawsuit in the U.S.

Under investigation following a cyberattack that exposed data for 33.7 million customers and resignation of C.E.O. Park Dae-Jun on December 10 2025, South Korean e-commerce retailer Coupang (2024...

6 January 2026

Carmila join forces with Unlimitail and JCDecaux to equip 252 malls

On December 9, Carrefour and Carmila signed a partnership with Unlimitail and JCDecaux to create a retail media network combining indoor DOOH and outdoor OOH across their sites in France and...

12 December 2025

Coupang’s C.E.O. resigns after data leak of 33.7 million customers

On December 10, Park Dae-Jun, CEO of South Korean e-commerce retailer Coupang (2024 revenue: US$31.5 billion up by 29%) resigned. The cause was a security breach that exposed the personal...

12 December 2025

Price-fixing investigation: Swatch and Citizen under scrutiny in Italy

On December 9, 2025, Swiss watch groups Swatch (Tissot, Mido and Hamilton) and Japanese Citizen (Bulova, Vagary, Frédérique Constant and Alpina) were placed under investigation by...

11 December 2025

BNPL: Scalapay raises €70 million. Klarna now available in Apple Pay

On December 9, 2025, the European Investment Bank concluded a €70 million financing agreement with Scalapay, the Italian fintech specialising in 3- and 4-installment payments, already active...

11 December 2025

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Marketplaces: Stockly enters Switzerland with MediaMarkt, Decathlon, Galaxus and Manor

After a loss-making but high-growth year in 2025, the stock-pooling start-up for marketplaces signed agreements with 4 Swiss players, mind Retail learned. By taking on one of Europe’s most...

30 January 2026

Save launches an e-commerce site to support a shift towards sales

Having just reached break-even, the French subsidiary of refurbished specialist Save intends to go beyond an historical model of repair to develop sales of accessories and refurbished products...

23 January 2026

Shoptimus AI scales up in grocery smart shopping lists and prepares for a new funding round

After securing a strategic partnership with Spanish grocer Bon Preu, retail tech firm Shoptimus AI—first spotted by Carrefour—is accelerating a rollout. By leveraging AI agents to automate grocery...

11 January 2026

Agentic AI: Hymalaia attracts retailers and announces imminent fundraising

According to our sources, the young start-up Hymalaia is continuing development in retail with 4 new retailers currently in POC and an imminent fundraising. We examine the details.

16 December 2025

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Shoptimus AI scales up in grocery smart shopping lists and prepares for a new funding round

11 January 2026

With Walmart, Ulta Beauty, Zalando and Carrefour, Google launches an agentic commerce protocol

Following the launch of payments in Copilot, Google is preparing to join OpenAI and Microsoft, but with a more integrated version focused on its own payment method, Google Pay. These moves...

13 January 2026

Circana: French e-commerce ended 2025 with strong growth, hypermarkets continue to decline

After four years of decline, volumes of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) rose again in 2025 in France and Europe, although they did not compensate for four years of losses. The rebound was...

15 January 2026

2026 Trends – Chatbots, WhatsApp, social networks: don’t miss out on conversation

(Trends 2/6) After a cautious observation phase by retailers and some high-profile hallucination issues, 2025 was a turning point operationally for chatbots and conversational tools. Positioned...

13 January 2026

Black Friday: Amazon’s AI assistant Rufus featured in 38% of sessions in the US

While peak season sales, revealed at the NRF Big Show, rose by 4.1% in the US from November 1 to December 31, 2025, Rufus, Amazon’s conversational chatbot, confirmed its traction. During the...

15 January 2026

2026 Trends – How far should retailers open the door to AI Search engines ?

(Trends 1/6) With data visibility, recommendations, transactions on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, LLMs are establishing themselves as new entry points for e-commerce. As search, comparison and...

8 January 2026