News brief

Apparel. Etam takes a step back in China
In May 2018, the fashion retailer Etam Development announced the end of the clothing business in China. This was its 2nd largest market by sales, which generated 30% of its total business in 2016...
2 June 2018
Costco hit by political scandal in China
he wholesale retailer Costco from the United States (net sales of US$95 billion in the 36 weeks to May 2018, an increase of 12%) is the latest to come under fire on Chinese social media regarding...
2 June 2018
U.S. Towards an online sales tax?
In June 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court cancelled its 1992 ruling, which forced online retailers to collect sales tax only in the States where they had a physical presence. The court reversed itself...
2 June 2018
Wal-Mart sells 80% of Brazilian business
As part of a global strategy to reduce exposure in unprofitable markets and to boost online growth, Wal-Mart is selling 80% of its Brazilian operation, representing 483 stores in 200 cities and...
2 June 2018
Story, the Concept of The Month
Can scarcity boost visitors for U.S. department stores? This is Macy’s gamble, which bought Story in May 2018 for an undisclosed amount. Story opened in 2011 in New-York (Chelsea area, sales...
2 June 2018
D.I.Y. The Australian giant throws the towel in the U.K.
This is a major setback and an incredibly expensive lesson for Wesfarmers. The Australian retailer spent €444 million in 2016 for the 255 stores of British D.I.Y. retailer Homebase, expecting...
2 June 2018
Zalando. “At home and now – the future of product returns”
For the last 12 months, the German giant of online fashion Zalando (sales of €4.5 billion in 2017, up by 25% with 23 million customers and 200 million monthly visitors), has been rejuvenating...
2 June 2018
A U.S. footwear retailer enters Europe
The “Flip Flop Shop” chain from the U.S.A. (specialising in flip-flops and summer shoes) has opened a 1st European store in Barcelona via a master-franchising agreement with Shades...
28 May 2018
Starbucks focuses on coffee
In May 2018, Starbucks signed a US$7.15 billion deal with Nestlé, which will sell its packaged coffee in supermarkets and grocery stores. For Starbucks, this consumer packaged-goods...
28 May 2018
Maisons du Monde makes inroads in the U.S
The French furniture retailer Maisons du Monde (with 38% of sales from outside France and 21% online) confirmed buying 70% of the U.S. retailer Modani. Modani is a small but profitable retailer...
28 May 2018
Wal-Mart to sell 80% of its Brazilian business ?
According to Valor International, Wal-Mart said it was considering options for its Brazilian retail business. It could sell an 80%-stake to the private equity firm Advent International for a value...
28 May 2018
Brazil. Natura pursues a digital makeover
With sales of US$3.1 billion in 2017, Natura is updating the sales value proposition for its 1.7 million sales reps (including 1.2 million in Brazil and 500,000 in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru...
28 May 2018
Kohl’s / Amazon. A working partnershiP
In late 2017, Kohl’s signed a partnership with Amazon for the firm to operate Amazon sales and return services within the Chicago and L.A. department stores. According to a study from Gordon...
28 May 2018
India. Uniqlo picks up Delhi for its first store
The Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo (Fast Retailing) is recruiting for the launch of a 1st store in New Delhi for autumn 2019, making India its 22nd market worldwide. In early May, it registered...
25 May 2018
Bio c’Bon pursues a Japan push
The France-based organic retailer Bio c’ Bon has opened a 2nd store in Tokyo in partnership with Aeon, via a joint-venture agreement. The organic store will be located in aka Meguro. A 1st...
25 May 2018
Ikea’s first Indian store will debut in July
Six years after having received the permission to open fully-owned stores in India, Ikea will open its first local store In Hyderabad in July 2018, covering 37,000 sq.m GLA in the Hi-tech City...
25 May 2018
Our other services
mind Research
Strategic Intelligence: Tailored research and market analysis services to power your insights and back your strategic decisions.
See more
mind Days
Networking & Events: Half-day conferences covering key industry topics and open to the entire ecosystem.
See more
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
Electronic shelf labels: why the US regulator threatens rollout
In the USA, the Federal Trade Commission has just required full transparency on the use of pricing algorithms based on personal data, under threat of penalties. In this regulatory framework...
2
From ChatGPT Ads to Amazon Alexa for Shopping: advertising in LLMs scales up in Europe
This summer, OpenAI successively rolled out its ChatGPT Ads platform in the UK and in 30 European countries. From formats used, CPM levels notably for FMCG products and the new role of GEO...
27 August 2026
3
With Claudeforce, Salesforce opens data to Anthropic and shifts into the conversational AI era
With the announcement of deep integration of the Claude LLM within the Salesforce ecosystem via MCP servers, SaaS software interfaces are fading in favour of AI agents. According to...
9 September 2026
4
Retail media & LLMs: navigating intent-driven and custom experiences
From store aisles to ChatGPT Ads placements, retail media is shifting away from traditional slots, formats and keywords toward intent-based targeting. Driven by lower access costs to LLMs, full...
31 August 2026
5
Facing SharkNinja’s hegemony, Carrefour and Darty gain ground on TikTok Shop
While Sephora follows in Ulta's footsteps on TikTok Shop in the US, mind Retail analyzed sellers performance in Q2 2026. Based on exclusive data from Lengow and Kalodata, this European market...
7 September 2026
6
Fnac Darty to launch Wero on its e-commerce sites
According to our information, Fnac Darty is about to deploy European payment solution Wero, based on account-to-account instant transfers, on its e-commerce sites. Already active in Germany at...
4 September 2026