News brief

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...
20 December 2024
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...
20 December 2024
Senate report condemns working conditions in Amazon warehouses
On June 15, the US Senate Select Committee led by Bernie Sanders issued a report on working conditions in Amazon‘s warehouses, in which safety procedures are not respected. The senators...
18 December 2024
Fast Retailing torn on the Chinese issue of Xinjiang
After a record year in a fiscal year to the end of August 2024 (turnover of US$20.7 billion up by 12.2%, net margin at 12% of sales), the C.E.O. of Fast Retailing, Tadashi Yanai, explained on the...
12 December 2024
Philippines’ SM Prime announces the opening of 5 new malls
SM Prime Holdings, the Philippine commercial property giant, is continuing to expand. With 5 openings planned for 2025 – 3 in the Philippines in Laoag, La Union and Zamboanga, and 2 in China...
11 December 2024
After Indonesia, Vietnam decides to ban Temu and Shein
In Vietnam, after Temu and Shein missed deadlines (end of November) imposed by the government to register with the Ministry of Commerce, the platforms have been blocked from selling in the country...
11 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...
11 December 2024
Belgium: bill transposing CSRD adopted
On November 28, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives approved a bill transposing the E.U. Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Belgium was one of the countries lagging behind on...
11 December 2024
Customer service: Orange and VIPP Interstis rely on AI to boost performance
On November 26, 2024, Orange (sales 2023: €39.7 billion, selling in 26 countries) signed a multi-year agreement with OpenAI to access AI training models. From H1 2025, this will train LLMs...
5 December 2024
In the U.S.A., Mango invests €65 million to open 60 stores in 2 years
At the end of November 2024, a month ahead of schedule, Mango (sales 2023: €3.1 billion, up by 20% at constant exchange rates, net profit of €172.1 million, up by 112%) achieved store...
5 December 2024
USA: Mirakl Ads signs up furniture specialist Mathis Home
After launching into retail media in mid-2023, Mirakl Ads is adding a new client to the portfolio, mind Retail has learned in a preview. On December 4, 2024, the retailer signed up home...
4 December 2024
Obi joins forces with Too Good To Go in the plants department
On November 26, 2024, Germany’s second largest D.I.Y. retailer OBI (sales 2023 of €8.2 billion via 645 stores in Europe, including 349 German units) announced that it had joined forces...
3 December 2024
Decathlon tests Klaro to boost staff buying power
Since late October 2024, Decathlon has been testing the Klaro solution with 1,000 staff in Northern France. The aim is to improve their purchasing power by simplifying access to social benefits...
3 December 2024
JD Sports buys Courir for €520 million, 10 times EBIT
After buying rival U.S. retailer Hibbett for US$1.1 billion in April, JD Sports Fashion (sales 2023 of €11.93 billion, up by 2.9%) made a 2nd acquisition. On November 27, 2024, it took over...
29 November 2024
[mind Retail Exclusive] Chronodrive and Norauto join Tipik’s HR multi-brand pool to absorb peaks in activity
Chronodrive and Norauto join Tipik, an H.R. pooling solution managed with Laponi and Cegedim. Already adopted by Decathlon, Kiabi, Brice, Jules, Rouge Gorge, La Vie Claire, Leroy Merlin, Boulanger...
Western Union takes turn in retail media
On November 11, financial transfer and payment network Western Union announced the launch of a retail media service, both in agencies and online. The American group aims to provide advertisers...
29 November 2024
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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
Electronic labels: Hanshow accelerates breakthrough and signs with a leading British retailer
While the leader in electronic labels, Vusion exceeded €1.47 billion in revenue in 2025, rival Hanshow is stepping up a global offensive, winning a strategic account in the U.K. and a new POC for...
27 February 2026
2
Conflicts in the Middle East: what impact on the supply chain and European retail?
With US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggering a major crisis on February 28, 2026, retailers already have to face the closure of strategic trade routes, rising freight costs and import...
3
BNPL: Between healthcare and retail, Scalapay accelerates a P.O.S. offensive with two major signings
Building on a strong foothold in fashion, Scalapay is strengthening in-store penetration targeting players in the healthcare sector. According to our information, the Italian BNPL unicorn has...
25 February 2026
4
Regulatory: With 200,000 Digital Product Passports issued, Darty scales up
While the European Commission is set to vote on delegated acts to specify requirements for home appliances, Darty is accelerating a Digital Product Passport (DPP) push by integrating new products...
11 March 2026
5
Profound raises US$96 million in Series C funding, becoming a first GEO unicorn
Founded in 2024 in New York by James Cadwallader, GEO startup Profound raised US$96 million on February 24, 2026, in a Series C round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, including Sequoia Capital...
25 February 2026
6
Agentic commerce : After Stripe, Mirakl partners with JPMorgan Payments
On March 10, 2026, Mirakl and JPMorgan Payments (JPMP) unveiled a partnership to deploy agentic commerce by combining the Mirakl Nexus agentic orchestration platform with the U.S. bank’s...
16 March 2026