News brief
South Korea: Ocado signs with Lotte Group to open robotic warehouses
UK-based Ocado signed a deal with Lotte Shopping (Lotte Group’s retail subsidiary) to build robotic warehouses but no value was announced. The South Korean giant, with more than 1,000 stores...
7 November 2022
Japan. Shein opens its first permanent store to boost omnichannel
Chinese fast fashion giant Shein (valued at €91 billion in April 2022) will open a first permanent store in Tokyo on 13 November.
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
3 November 2022
Poland. The convenience store giant Zabka to be nationalised
The Polish government announced an intention to acquire the country’s leading convenience store chain, Zabka (8,000 franchise stores, 2021 turnover of US$2.5 billion, up by 22%...
3 November 2022
Germany: In 6 months, online optician Mister Spex opens 12 stores
The German online optician Mister Spex is continuing a very controlled foray into the physical world. In November 2022, it will open a first store in Switzerland. “This will be our 65th...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
28 October 2022
South Korea’s Paris Baguette sets up in London and accelerates in the U.S.A.
At a time when the South Korean group SPC is under fire for working conditions, its Paris Baguette chain (4,000 bakeries worldwide, including 3,400 in South Korea and 600 in the U.S.A., China...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
27 October 2022
India. Starbucks opens a Reserve flagship in Mumbai
On 18 October, Tata Starbucks India (300 coffee shops in India, including 32 openings in 2022) opened its first “Reserve” coffee shop in Mumbai in the Maharashtra district. Designed to...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
27 October 2022
Frédéric Marty-Debat to move to retail
Frenchman Frédéric Marty-Debat will be leaving as Managing Director of Publicis Commerce France, according to information from mind Retail on Friday 21st October. He will be taking...
25 October 2022
Gucci appoints a Chief Metaverse Officer
Gucci (519 stores at the end of June 2022, half-yearly turnover of €5.17 billion, up 8% on a comparable basis) is expanding into the metaverse. The nugget of the Kering group, owned by the...
24 October 2022
New on your site!
Dear Subscriber,…We are upgrading the mind Retail services. From Monday, October 24th, you will find analysis, news and a new section called:…– Data for all our sources...
24 October 2022
USA. TikTok builds warehouses to boots its e-commerce business
…While the app abandoned the rollout of TikTok Shop in Europe, TikTok seems to be looking to expand its e-commerce operations in the U.S. Job postings in recent weeks reportedly indicate...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
21 October 2022
Walgreens to take 100% ownership of CareCentrix for US$392 million
…Walgreens Boots Alliance (sales of US$133 billion in 2021, up by 7.5% at constant rates) announced on 11th October an acquisition of CareCentrix for US$392 million. This home healthcare...
20 October 2022
Ikea: store sales rebounded by 13% in 2022
…Ingka Group, the main franchisee of the Inter-Ikea Group managing the bulk of the group’s stores, shopping centres and e-commerce operations, published annual results on 13th October...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
19 October 2022
John Lewis goes into clothing rental with HURR
…Since 3 October 2022, John Lewis (turnover of €2.5 billion in the first half of the year to the end of July 2022, 59% of which are online sales) have been offering rental of...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
19 October 2022
Quick commerce: Lego partners with Foodpanda
…On 23 September, Foodpanda announced a partnership with Lego (2021 sales of US$8.06 billion, up by 27% vs 2020), marking the toy brand’s entry into the quick commerce market.
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
18 October 2022
Sephora returns to the UK, in digital first
…In 2005, Sephora closed all 9 U.K. stores, blaming soaring rents and costs. On 17 October 2022, it will launch a U.K. e-commerce site “Sephora.co.uk”. After buying...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
14 October 2022
Bricoman : just launched, payment by bank transfer takes off in stores
…On 24 August 2022, the D.I.Y. chain Bricoman dedicated to trade and professional customers (38 stores in France, €730 million turnover in 2021) decided to add payment by bank transfer...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
14 October 2022
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
Before an IPO, Shein forced to reveal margin erosion in 2025 and impact of US tariff shock
Made public ahead of a Hong Kong listing planned for September, Shein’s financial documents, seen by mind Retail, confirm the shift experienced by the fast-fashion retailer. Despite a 8% sales...
- Retail
- Property and investors
- Analysis
21 August 2026
2
O’Boticario rolls out AI diagnostics across 4,000 stores with Haut.ai
On August 18, Brazilian cosmetics retail chain O’Boticario (2025 GMV up by 6.7%) announced the deployment of skin analysis technology provided by Estonian start-up Haut.AI. It will be rolled...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- News
21 August 2026
3
Hugues Chanoine (Hygie31 Digital): “The next step is to eliminate filters to move to 100% conversational search”
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
4
ChatGPT: Bureau Vallée’s recipe to capture back-to-school spending
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
5
Walmart finally accepts in-store payments with Apple Pay and Google Pay
Sanctioned by financial markets after a sharp US slowdown in Q2, Walmart is reviewing a checkout strategy. Abandoning a rejection of technological giants, the group is rolling out Apple Pay and...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- News
24 August 2026
6
Why Shein emits twice as much CO2 as Inditex for equivalent revenue
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