News brief

Lidl launches a retail media business in Germany
On 18 July 2023, the German Schwarz Group (owner of Lidl and Kaufland) announced the immediate launch of an online retail media offering, in partnership with online advertising technology company...
2 August 2023
DSA: After Zalando, Amazon tries to escape Brussels’ constraints
After Zalando, it is now the turn of Amazon (2022 sales: US$514 billion) to claim the firm has been “unfairly targeted” by the E.U. and the rules laid down to prevent systemic risks...
U.K. Will duty-free shopping for foreign tourists return soon?
The scheduling of a parliamentary debate on 7 September 2023 on the reintroduction of duty-free shopping in the U.K. is a first victory for British retailers. During this debate for around fifty...
24 July 2023
Following Central Retail, Aeon invests massively in Vietnam
On 19 July, the leading Japanese retailer Aeon (turnover of US$16.6 billion in Q1 2023, up by 5% in one year) received a US$41 million loan from JBIC and Mizuho Bank to expand in southern Vietnam...
24 July 2023
Amazon up in arms over €3 delivery charges for books
On 27 June in France, Amazon announced instructions to sue the French Council of State to court over a ministerial order of April 4, 2023. This will introduce a minimum carriage charge of €3...
20 July 2023
China: Harrods targets the ultra-rich with a private club in Shanghai
On 17 July, Harrods announced the evolution of “The Residence” concept (launched in 2020) with the creation of a private club for ultra-rich customers. The company’s first...
20 July 2023
Retail media: despite Kingfisher and Leroy Merlin’s initiatives, the DIY market will need 18 to 24 months to become mature
In mid-June 2023, Kingfisher announced the launch of Kingfisher Retail Media France, an omnichannel retail media agency run by Gwenola Coicaud (formerly of Criteo) for the Castorama and Brico...
U.S. retailers raise minimum threshold for free delivery by 23%
In the U.S.A., where e-commerce accounted for 15.1% of retail in Q1 2023 via US$272.6 billion in sales, the party is over when it comes to free deliveries and returns, which have damaged the...
British online shoppers reduced their average shopping basket by 14% in 6 months
In the U.K., rising prices are reducing consumer purchasing power. According to Foxinteligence, the average number of items per e-commerce basket fell  from 3.1 a year ago to 2.8 in June...
17 July 2023
Automatic checkouts: Costco wants to step up controls on membership cards
Faced with a slowdown in growth (historically up by 16% in 2022 for US$227 billion in net sales, compared to 1.9% in the 3 months to May 2023 for US$52.6 billion in sales), Costco wants to improve...
13 July 2023
According to McKinsey, marketing will be one of the functions most impacted by generative A.I.
Customer relations, business development, software engineering, research and development and marketing are the corporate functions that will be most affected by A.I. (artificial intelligence)...
13 July 2023
[Confidential] OneStock signed up four integrator partners for international expansion
The OneStock stock consolidation solution, which is working in France, Germany, the U.K., Italy and Nordics, is looking for integrator partners to further develop an international presence. These...
Textiles. Italy and the Netherlands move towards Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
From 1st January 2024, textile manufacturers in Italy and the Netherlands will be subject to EPR, as voted by Brussels in March 2022. “The aim is for manufacturers to assume responsibilities...
5 July 2023
After the soaring import bill, shortages persist in Tunisia
For almost a year now, Tunisia has been experiencing a series of shortages of essential foodstuffs such as sugar, semolina, flour and rice. The Tunisian government is facing an economic crisis...
4 July 2023
USA. Walgreens lays off staff and closes 150 drugstores
Walgreens is continuing a shift towards healthcare, 18 months after C.E.O. Rosalind Brewer, former n°2 at Starbucks arrived. The drugstore chain (sales of US$35.4 billion in Q3 2023, up by...
4 July 2023
Japan. Fender opens a first flagship store in Tokyo
On 30th June, guitar brand Fender (70% online sales by 2021) opened a first flagship store in a 77-year history in the Harajuku district of Tokyo. The American brand is looking to expand in Asia...
4 July 2023
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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
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
4
Following a complaint from the FTC, Walmart agrees to pay US$100 million to Spark delivery drivers
On February 26, 2026, Walmart (2025 revenue: US$713.2 billion, up by 5.1% at constant rates) agreed to pay US$100 million in response to allegations of misleading compensation to delivery drivers...
5
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
6
Online authentification : Prelude expands a “message free” solution globally 
A competitor to Twilio, Vonage and Plivo, the French startup Prelude, which has 75 retail clients, is actively deploying Prelude Zero, an authentication method that requires no message delivery...
13 March 2026