News brief

Cencosud heiress makes major US acquisition
Barely appointed President of Cencosud on April 2022 to succeed her father, the billionaire Horst Paulmann, Heike Paulmann has spent US$676 million to buy 67% of the American company The Fresh...
8 June 2022
End of free returns at H&M and Zara
On 24 April, Zara (part of Inditex Group) changed its returns policy for online orders (€1.95 fee). H&M was ahead, charging €0.95 for such returns (excluding in-store returns).
8 June 2022
Inflation remains high in the Eurozone
According to Eurostat, the EU‘s statistical agency, the Eurozone recorded a high average in April 2022: the annual inflation rate was 7.4% (in annual terms, i.e., April 2022 compared to...
7 June 2022
Amazon in logistical overcapacity
According to Bloomberg, Amazon now has too much storage capacity in the U.S., as e-commerce returns to normal after two years of euphoria.
7 June 2022
UK. Mark & Spencer launches refillable household products
After developing bulk in 2019, Marks & Spencer launched on 1 June “M&S Refillable”, a range of private label refillable household cleaning products (cleaning sprays, fabric...
7 June 2022
Dollar General is rolling out self-check-out
By the end of December, the discount retailer Dollar General (DG) will replace traditional checkouts with a “self-check-out” system in 200 of 18,000 stores.
7 June 2022
U.S.A.: new home sales plummet in April
…In the United States, 591,000 new homes were sold in April 2022, compared with 709,000 in March, a drop of 17%. On a year-on-year basis, the decline is down by 27% (sources...
3 June 2022
Kyle Leahy, the new face of Glossier
…Kyle Leahy has been appointed C.E.O. of Glossier. She takes over from Emily Weiss, the blogger and entrepreneur who created one of the most iconic direct-to-consumer brands in the USA. A...
3 June 2022
Majid Al Futtaim partners with Binance to offer crypto payments
;;;Carrefour’s exclusive Middle East franchisor Majid Al Futtaim (also owner of 29 malls and 13 hotels in 30 countries) has partnered with Binance, a Hong Kong-based blockchain of over 300...
2 June 2022
Cofidis launches Pay Later in stores
…Beyond e-commerce, deferred or split payments are gaining ground in stores. Credit specialist Cofidis (CM-CIC banking group) announced the launch of a “Pay Later” payment...
30 May 2022
Retail Media: Ulta Beauty enters the race
…The attraction of beauty retailers to turn data into sales started in Germany with Douglas and the cosmetics pure-player Flaconi. After two years of tests, the leading American cosmetics...
27 May 2022
Alibaba and WeChat push the digital Yuan
At Alipay and WeChat Pay, the Digital Yuan, a central retail banking digital currency that originated in 2014, is now in the roll-out stage.
20 May 2022
Deliveroo and Hero: arm wrestle over delivery workers’ pay in the Emirates
//In the UAE, Talabat’s delivery drivers (a subsidiary of the German group Delivery Hero) have refused, for the second time in a month, to deliver meals in the city of Dubai. They are...
20 May 2022
Tesco tests flexible office rental in its supermarkets
In South London, an in-store flexible workspace is expected to open over the next few weeks at Tesco’s New Malden supermarket.
20 May 2022
Reebok, McDonald’s and Shell sell Russian assets for good
Faced with threats of seizure and nationalization of their assets (including brands), some retailers have decided to close down in Russia. In mid-May, Shell sold its fleet of 411 service stations...
20 May 2022
PayPal is moving towards mobile payment in stores
The online payment platform PayPal (turnover of US$25.6 billion in 2021, up by 18%) wants to transform smartphones into payment terminals – thanks to a simple application. It announced the...
12 May 2022
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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