News brief
At Marks & Spencer, self-checkout is taking root next to fitting rooms
In the U.K., Marks & Spencer (2023 sales: €15.3 billion, up 9.4% in a year) is installing automatic checkouts, next to the fitting rooms. 28 stores are already equipped, including the...
- Retail
- Retail tech
29 October 2024
Supported by L-Catterton, the Ghost marketplace for overstock raises US$40 million
Californian start-up Ghost raised US$40 million on October 15, 2024, in a Series C round led by L Catterton (LVMH). Investors include Cathay Innovation (which led a US$30 million Series B round in...
28 October 2024
Inditex and UNI Global extend their agreement to digital tools and franchise stores
On October 10, 2024, Inditex signed a renewal of a global agreement with the UNI Global union (165,000 employees in 215 countries), which introduces a new dimension relating to the retail...
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
25 October 2024
South Asia: Mothercare and Reliance Brands create a joint venture
On October 17, the struggling British retailer Mothercare (sales of US$355 million in the fiscal year to March 2024, down by 9% at constant exchange rates after a fall of 13% in 2022) and the...
25 October 2024
Sensei completes a US$16.2-million Series A
As announced by mind Retail, Portuguese start-up Sensei, which specialises in AI-enhanced computer vision and sensor technologies to operate autonomous supermarkets, has just raised US$16.2...
23 October 2024
Cegid offers a four-day week to employees aged 61 and over
Since October 11, 2024, French employees aged 61 and over at software POS publisher Cegid (4,400 employees in France) have been able to request that 35 working hours be spread over four days...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
23 October 2024
Saudi Arabia: Carrefour and Majid Al Futtaim criticised for human rights violations
On October 21, Amnesty denounced Carrefour‘s practices in a Saudi franchise managed by Majid Al Futtaim (2023 sales €8.6 billion, up 1%). Migrants are employed, underpaid and working 60...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
23 October 2024
With 10% of online sales, Yves Rocher launches a marketplace to round off offering
On September 23, beauty retailer Yves Rocher (660 stores in France, turnover of €1.2 billion in 2023 including 10% of online sales) launched a marketplace in France, powered by the Mirakl...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
17 October 2024
Commercial rents fell by 3.5% in Tokyo in the 1st half of the year
According to Savills’ October 2024 report, retail rents for ground floor stores in Tokyo fell by 3.5% in the 6 months to the end of June 2024. This fall in rental values is explained by the...
- Retail
- Property and investors
16 October 2024
Saudi Cenomi and GIB Capital launch a €245 million retail property fund
On October 8, 2024, in Saudi Arabia, mall developer Cenomi Centres (66 million visitors in H1 2024, 92.5% occupancy rate) joined forces with investment fund GIB Capital (a branch of Gulf...
- Retail
- Property and investors
15 October 2024
British department stores Selfridges flies under Thai-Saudi flag
On October 7, 2024, the Saudi Arabian public investment fund announced acquisition of Austrian Signa‘s shares in Selfridges Group. The Saudi government thus becomes a 40% minority...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
14 October 2024
The U.S.A Department of Justice wants to dismantle Google
On October 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published initial proposals for remedies to break up Google‘s alleged illegal monopoly of the search and sponsored links market. The...
14 October 2024
In the retail sector, M&A are expected to rise in the GCC in 2024
As online retailers are putting a rising pressure on omnichannel retailers, retailers located in the Gulf Cooperation Council are expected to see a rise in M&A transactions. According to the...
11 October 2024
With Gemini’s AI, Google stands up to OpenAI and wants to conquer India
Google (Alphabet Inc., revenue of US$165.3 billion in H1 to June 2024, net margin at 28.6% of sales) has announced a roadmap for India, including voice processing of its AI-powered assistant...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
10 October 2024
Retail media: Criteo signs Selfridges and Belk department stores
After losing ManoMano and Boulanger in recent months, retail media specialist Criteo announced on October 8 a new partnership with U.S. department stores’ Belk (2023 sales of US$3.1 billion...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
8 October 2024
Richemont takes control of 33% of Mytheresa in exchange for sale of YNAP
On October 7, 2024, Richemont (sales of €20.62 billion in 2023, up 3.3%) announced the sale of Yoox-Net-A-Porter (YNAP ) to German marketplace Mytheresa (sales of €840 million in the...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
7 October 2024
Our mind news
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...
10 September 2026
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...
10 September 2026
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...
- Retail
- mind Exclusive
- Retail tech
4 September 2026
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...
3 September 2026
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...
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
- Analysis
21 August 2026
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...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- Analysis
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...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- News
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...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- Special Reports
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...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- Analysis
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...
- Retail
- mind Exclusive
- Retail tech
4 September 2026