News brief

In Europe, the drugstore sector is not that familiar with Initial Public Offerings. However, in the Middle East two stock market listings involving pharmacy chains are worth following.

8 February 2022

Watsons opens website and a first store in Qatar

Hong Kong-based cosmetics retailer Watsons is making inroads in Qatar with a website and a first store located in Doha Festival City. With a 300 sqm sales area, it offers 200 brands of beauty...

7 February 2022

Dubai. Lego and Harry Potter focus on experiences

If there is one thing the U.S. and the Middle East have in common, it is retailtainment. For the Dubai Shopping Festival, the Mall of the Emirates is hosting a temporary store: Harry Potter...

7 February 2022

Amazon’s online sales stagnate in Q4

In the fourth quarter ended December 2021, Amazon‘s e-commerce sales grew by only 1% year-on-year. The group, which has published unaudited figures, posted an annual turnover of...

7 February 2022

John Lewis, Maisons du Monde and Ikea : What results of custom advice services ?

At John Lewis British department stores, the number of personalised appointments has reached 74,680 since the service was launched in mid-April 2020. These appointments concern home design and...

4 February 2022

Walmart: click & collect has tripled in 2 years

At Walmart (sales of US$559 billion in 2020 up by 6.7%), the value of Web orders picked up in store via a “curbside pick-up” service increased from US$7.2 billion in 2018 to US$20.4...

3 February 2022

Shein plans an I.P.O. in New York

According to Reuters, Chinese fashion pure-player Shein (sales of US$15.7 billion in 2021, with the U.S.A. as its largest market) has hired Bank of America, Goldman...

3 February 2022

Netherlands. Hema wants to sell to companies

The potential of B2B is of interest to many retailers. If professional customers are at the heart of Ankorstore’s business model (GMV grew by 950% in 2021 compared to 2020), they are also of...

31 January 2022

Ingka Centres invests in a 7th mall in China

After 3 mall openings last year in China, the subsidiary of Ingka Group (whose turnover reached €37.4 billion as of August 31, 2021, up by 6%) is continuing expansion and announced the...

28 January 2022

Victoria’s Secret cedes control of China

On Jan. 25, 2022, Victoria’s Secret (VS) announced a joint venture in China, 49% owned by Chinese rival Regina Miracle and 51% owned by the company.

28 January 2022

Mango moves to 5th Avenue

Mango (€1.84 billion in sales in 2020 including 42% online) will open in the first half of 2022 a 2,100-sq.m and three-level flagship store in Manhattan (711 Fifth Avenue).

28 January 2022

Consumer reviews. Fashion Nova pays a US$-4.2 million settlement to FTC

On January 26th, 2022, U.S. retailer Fashion Nova (US$ 615 million in 2020) has payed US$ 4.2 million to the Federal Trade Commission. According to the FTC, the California-based company used...

28 January 2022

Shopify and JD.com launch in the Chinese market

On January 18th, the Canadian firm Shopify, which provides retailers with software to build and operate an e-commerce site, concluded a major agreement with the Chinese JD.com.

27 January 2022

Decathlon: managerial audacity follows a strategy

Barbara Martin Coppola (aged 45) will take over as C.E.O. at Decathlon in March 2022. A telecoms engineer by training (critical in the race in digital transformation), the former C.D.O. of...

27 January 2022

Wang Ning, Chinese toy specialist, lands in London with Pop Mart

Aged 35, Mr. Wang Ning made his fortune with an improbable bet: selling toys (figurines and dolls) in surprise bags. In 2020, his company Pop Mart recorded a turnover of US$382 million, up by 49%...

27 January 2022

Israel. The start-up Placer.ai raises US$100 million

Founded in 2018, the Israeli start-up which specialises in traffic data over commercial areas was valued at US$1 billion after a funding round on January 12th, 2022.

26 January 2022

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Already in POC, Klarna launches long-term credit in Germany, the UK and France

Swedish fintech Klarna is expanding long-term financing in Germany and the UK, with an imminent launch, followed by France, where POCs are already underway with major e-retailers. The BNPL...

18 March 2026

Aroma-Zone and Najar reveal the behind-the-scenes of a strategic partnership

As the adoption of AI results in increasing cost volatility for companies, mind Retail spoke in Monaco with Christelle Glaszer, Manager of Indirect Purchases at Aroma-Zone natural beauty retailer...

13 March 2026

After-sales service: Prolong aims to become the OS of repair and adds 3 luxury brands

Signing of three high-end clients, launch of a maintenance passport, imminent Seed funding round and cloud migration project in China… At a 1-to-1 conference in Monaco, the Founder of Prolong...

12 March 2026

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

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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

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...

5 March 2026

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

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

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

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