News brief

DIY. Lowe’s invests in staff.
For the 7th consecutive year, the American home improvement retailer Lowe’s is granting a bonus to all employees. These include teams working in stores, at distribution centres and at call...
26 February 2021
D.I.Y. is also accelerating in Norway.
Sales of D.I.Y. products in Norway grew by 26% in 2020, said Carl Otto Lovenskiold, responsible for the Lovenskiold-Vækero Co-Operative (65 Maxbo stores, from 600 sq. m.) to the DIY...
26 February 2021
Ikea downsizes plans at Copenhagen train station.
Initially planned over 37,000 sq.m GLA, the future Ikea store opposite the Central Station on Kalvebod Brygge, will finally open in 2023 over a reduced area of 19,000 sq.m. This freehold store...
26 February 2021
Do-It-yourself. ManoMano doesn’t say no to an IPO.
The D.I.Y. pure player doubled overall business volume in 2020 (€1.2 billion) and says open to the idea of an IPO. The Group ended the year with 7 million active monthly customers, increasing...
26 February 2021
VFCorp: “Goodbye Hong Kong, hello Shanghai”
From April 2021, fashion retailer VF Corp (brands include Supreme, Timberland, Vans and The North Face) will be moving the Hong Kong headquarters to Shanghai, China.A second operational base...
26 February 2021
Customer experience. Bad Buzz of the Month
Gmail, Hotmail, Netflix and Linkedin. 3.2 billion of accounts hacked?One of the most significant leaks of personal information from the Web may have happened in mid-February 2021. Hackers posted a...
26 February 2021
View from a battlefield “We need to find smarter schemes that reward owners”
“Landowners will have to change their business model, which has been based on triple net for years. Current lease terms range from 10 to 12 year in several European countries. This strangles...
26 February 2021
Amazon. Jeff Bezos passes the torch
Amazon C.E.O. Jeff Bezos, aged 57, will step down as of the third quarter of 2021, moving to Executive Chairman of the Board. A replacement C.E.O. is Mr. Andy Jassy, currently C.E.O. of Amazon Web...
26 February 2021
Zalando poaches a former boss from Boots
Online beauty is becoming more and more competitive. Zalando, Europe’s biggest fashion pure-player, is fast building a brand reputation. Previously Vice President at Boots, Joanna Rogers now...
26 February 2021
China. Luxury pushes the boundaries of e-commerce
How do retailers successfully ride the dynamics of luxury goods in Continental China, the only region in the world where this market is growing? If luxury brands were historically very reluctant...
26 February 2021
IKEA wants a warehouse store in New Delhi
While the initial contract was signed in 2018, the Delhi’s IKEA store project conducted by Ingka Group has been stalled since then due to administrative delays.
26 February 2021
Charging for picking. New entrants dare
Betting on e-commerce is fine, but at what price? For many retailers, answers are not easy. Whist Covid-19 restrictions boosted hypermarkets’ sales, many retailers replaced profitable...
26 February 2021
Asos and Boohoo take over fashion high-street giants
In the U.K., the pure-player Asos (turnover of €3.6 billion in 2020, a rise of 19%) acquired the celebrated Topshop chain, including the brand ownership for Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT...
26 February 2021
U.S. retailers are invaluable partners in vaccination relay race
Due to conservation rules and very cold storage requirements, distribution of Covid-19 vaccines across the U.S.A. is proving to be a significant logistical challenge. However, the supply-chain...
26 February 2021
Weakened in the U.S.A., L’Occitane continues to advance in Asia
The beauty retailer L’Occitane, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, adjusts priorities. If it managed to contain losses over the 9 months of 2020 (net turnover of €1.19 billion...
26 February 2021
Alibaba. Where is Jack Ma?
Has the charismatic 56-year-old founder of Alibaba, a member of the Communist Party, been isolated by the Chinese authorities or just keeping a low profile? The mystery remains. Jack Ma was last...
22 January 2021
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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
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
2
Klépierre, URW, Carmila: in 2025, retail media and services accounted for nearly 10% of net rental income
Published on February 12 and 19, annual financial results of the three major European property companies show that Klépierre, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, and Carmila are no longer singing from the...
24 February 2026
3
Romain Mombert, Eurazeo: “Tomorrow, retailers and brands will no longer acquire customers, but AI agents”
In a proliferation of AI start-ups, how can investors distinguish those that bring true innovation and in which they should invest? For what valuation metrics? In retail and payment, what types of...
4
The SaaS licence model falters in the face of AI automation
With the launch of Claude Cowork, the software sector, prized by investors for predictable and recurring revenue, is slowing down. According to Bain, stock market indices for SaaS tech editors...
19 March 2026