News brief

E-commerce: Asos, the object of desire for Alibaba
According to the Sunday Times, Turkish pure-player Trendyol, controlled by Alibaba, made an offer to buy Asos for US$1.24 billion in December 2022. Established by Morgan Stanley...
6 June 2023
Hong Kong: Chanel to open a 19,000 sq.m beauty flagship
After opening 39 beauty stores in 2022, Chanel signed a commercial lease for a 19,000 sq.m space in Hong Kong (at a monthly rent of US$383,000). Covering two floors in the Capitol Centre at...
6 June 2023
DIY: Home Depot and Lowe’s reduce annual forecasts
Affected by a fall in discretionary spending, The Home Depot (2022 sales of US$160 billion, net margin of 10.9% of sales) is not optimistic for the current financial year. Instead of stagnating as...
5 June 2023
E-commerce: Walmart reduces plastic and packaging
On June, 2023 Walmart (Q1 2023 sales of US$152.3 billion, up by 7.6%, net margin down to 1% of revenue) announced a program to save 2,000 tons of plastic in the USA this year. For the e-commerce...
2 June 2023
Vietnam: Diptyque opens a first physical store with Tam Son
Last month, Vietnamese group Tam Son International added Diptyque and Tory Burch to a portfolio of franchised brands, which includes Hermès, Rimowa, Sandro, Patek Philippe and others. The...
1 June 2023
GDPR : Meta fined €1.2 billion
The Irish Data Protection Agency (DPC) announced on May 22nd a record fine of €1.2 billion against the Meta company for transferring European users’ data to servers in the United...
26 May 2023
U.A.E. retailers will be subject to Corporation Tax from June 1st 2023
While G.D.P. growth reached 7.6% in 2022, the United Arab Emirates will introduce a first Corporate Tax from June 1st, 2023. Set at 9%, this applies to companies whose annual income from...
26 May 2023
India: Shein joins forces with Reliance to fight U.S. regulator
The WSJ revealed that Shein signed a partnership with India’s Reliance Industries as it faces scrutiny from the U.S.A. Stock Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) over enforced labour of Uighur...
26 May 2023
USA. Amazon enters the fissure of paid returns
Since 13th April, Amazon has been testing a new approach to returns. In the U.S., a symbolic charge of US$1 is made for returns made via UPS on condition that an Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market...
23 May 2023
Primark accelerates U.S. expansion to compete with Shein
In the U.S.A., Primark (2022 turnover of €8.9 billion via 408 stores) opened a 17th American store on 20th April in the Walden Galleria mall in Buffalo (New York State). Covering 3,200 sq.m...
17 May 2023
CSR. Albert Heijn tests a price premium based on environmental impact 
In the Netherlands, the Albert Heijn chain (part of Ahold Delhaize, 2022 turnover: €87 billion, up 6.9% at constant exchange rates) has been offering a dual price for hot drinks (coffee, oat...
17 May 2023
European sales of FMCG products in sharp drop since January
According to Circana/IRI data supplied to mind Retail, unit sales of FMCG products accelerated a fall in January and February 2023, after a black year in Western...
15 May 2023
Chinese retail recovered growth in Q1 2023
In the first quarter, the Chinese economy grew by 4.5%. While the growth rate was 3.9% in Q3 and 2.9% in Q4 2022, this is the largest increase in a year. This rebound in G.D.P. shows that the...
11 May 2023
Leroy Merlin arrives in Senegal with Jumia
On March 22, Leroy Merlin signed an agreement with the pure player Jumia to launch into Senegal with 700 products. Since 2019, 1,500 products of the D.I.Y. chain are already distributed by Jumia...
9 May 2023
D.S.A.: Zalando added to platforms subject to stronger regulations
On Monday 25th April, the European Commission published a list of 19 online services, including 17 “very large online platforms (V.L.O.P.s)”, subject to legal obligations under the...
5 May 2023
China : Alibaba and JD.com spin-offs delight investors
On 30th March 2023, JD.com announced a spin-off of property and industrial units from the core business in order to list these on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In the listing documents filed on...
4 May 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
Personalised pricing: Europe keeps a low profile while New York forces retailers to be transparent
In the State of New York, unprecedented legislation has come into force requiring retailers using personalised pricing algorithms to inform consumers. While the NRF is seeking to counter its...
12 December 2025
2
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
3
In the U.S.A., retail job cuts rise 139% in a year
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a company specialising in employment trend analysis, in the U.S.A., 2025 has been tough for retail employment. The sector recorded 91,954 job cuts...
9 December 2025
4
Italy: three executives from luxury goods group Tod’s investigated over worker exploitation
After placing Loro Piana (LVMH), Armani, Dior and Valentino under judicial administration, the Milan public prosecutor's office is now targeting Tod's. Three of its executives are under...
5
Customs duties: Costco sues the Trump administration
On November 28, Costco (net sales of US$267 billion in the fiscal year ending August 31, 2025 , up by 8.1% after 6% in 2024) sued the Trump administration, judging the tariff surcharges imposed...
5 December 2025
6
Australia bans access to social networks for under‑16s
As part of the adoption of the Online Safety law Social Media Minimum Age, voted on 28 November 2025, minors aged under 16 will no longer be able to access social networks in Australia from...
2 December 2025