News brief

After Bunnings, Kmart is criticised for use of facial recognition
On September 18, the Australian Information Commission once again targeted the Wesfarmers group (turnover at June 30, 2025: US$29.6 billion, up by 3.3%) for use of facial recognition. After ruling...
30 September 2025
Amazon closes Fresh stores in the U.K. and reorganises food retail business
Less than 4 years after opening a first Amazon Fresh store in the UK, the group (Q2 2025 revenue: US$168 billion, up by 13.3%) announced on September 23 the closure of 14 British Fresh stores and...
30 September 2025
Auchan Retail’s job protection plan invalid due to lack of union consultation
While Auchan Retail continues to reduce retail areas by 25%, the Lille-based Administrative Court invalidated a job protection plan on September 23. The retailer, whose like-for-like turnover fell...
30 September 2025
GDPR : French data protection agency fines La Samaritaine €100,000
On September 18, the French data protection agency CNIL fined La Samaritaine €100,000 for concealing cameras in storage areas in August 2023. These had been installed to catch employees...
30 September 2025
With AI, Rakuten launches its marketplace in Spain at a lower cost
On September 15, 2025, Rakuten (2024 turnover: €13.9 billion, up by 10% year-on-year, with a net loss of €790 million) announced the launch of a marketplace in Spain, the first step in a...
22 September 2025
After Asda and Currys, Sainsbury’s tests facial recognition to lower theft
To reduce theft, the UK’s second-largest food retailer, Sainsbury’s (2024 turnover: €42.9 billion, up by 1%), has been using facial recognition technology since September 3, 2025...
15 September 2025
Peak season: 74% of Singaporeans rely on AI for holiday shopping
In Singapore (population of 6 million), shoppers are turning en-masse to artificial intelligence for end-of-year shopping. According to The Asian Business Review and data from the U.S. media...
15 September 2025
Generative AI: following Walmart and Carrefour, Albertsons launches customer chatbot
On September 10, 2025, Albertsons, the 5th largest grocery retailer in the U.S.A. (2024 turnover: US$80.4 billion, up by 2% on a like-for-like basis excluding petrol) unveiled ‘Ask...
15 September 2025
Klarna valued at US$15 billion for a NYSE listing
On September 9, Swedish payment company Klarna, known for buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) solutions, raised US$1.37 billion in an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This...
15 September 2025
Generative AI: according to MIT, 95% of projects do not deliver ROI
According to an MIT study conducted as part of the NANDA project, dedicated to the Internet of AI agents and published in mid-August, 95% of pilot projects carried out by companies and public...
8 September 2025
Danish grocer Salling accelerates VC investments, following in the footsteps of Vinted
Eager to better source retail innovation and accelerate time to market, Danish grocer Salling (2024 turnover: €9.7 billion, up by 2.7%) launched a new fund. Named Salling Seeds and headed by...
21 August 2025
SMCP returns to growth, ending legal battle
On August 11, 2025, SMCP (including Sandro and Maje) announced the end of a legal battle from 2021. Following a ruling by the High Court of Singapore, the 15.5% stake that had been wrongfully...
20 August 2025
E-commerce: Graas AI raises $9 million to accelerate deployment of AI agents
On August 11, Graas AI, a Singapore-based start-up specialising in AI agents for e-commerce operations, raised $9 million in a pre-Series B round led by Tin Men Capital. Founded in 2022 with...
13 August 2025
Customer service: With AI, Saks reduces calls requiring humans by 20%
On August 8, Saks officially launched Sophie, an AI-powered voice and text assistant designed with the U.S. conversational platform NLX and AWS. Since April, customers can ask the AI agent about...
13 August 2025
AI, customs duties… job losses surge in US retail
In the United States, according to a report by labour market specialist Challenger Gray & Christmas (CGC) published on July 31, 2025, retailers cut 80,487 jobs between January and July 2025...
8 August 2025
With the acquisition of Mtrix, NielsenIQ strengthens supply chain visibility
On August 6, 2025, NielsenIQ (NIQ), a global consumer intelligence company, announced the acquisition of Mtrix, a Brazilian SaaS provider offering inventory and indirect supply chain visibility...
8 August 2025
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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