News brief

Discounters converted to click & collect?
Discount supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl are ready to accelerate home delivery, meeting an increasing demand for online shopping as driven by the Covid-19 crisis.Aldi announced the extension of...
6 July 2020
Fashion: Change or sink?
How will textile retailers reinvent a business to succeed after the Covid-19 crisis? For the time being, bad news is piling up. An example is the announcement of Inditex, the Spanish leader in...
6 July 2020
Facebook, a sales channel like any other
In the midst of the crisis, Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of Facebook Shops, a free feature for merchants that allows them to create online stores using Facebook and Instagram...
6 July 2020
Retail. China will overtake the U.S. by 2020
According to eMarketer, China will become the world’s largest retail market sooner than expected, partly due to the health crisis. The e-commerce battle between Alibaba, JD.com and...
6 July 2020
Decathlon deploys “scan and go” with MishiPay
Decathlon (2,193 stores in 54 countries, turnover of €12.4 billion in 2019), is deploying a mobile checkout system in 81 German stores with MishiPay, which was elected ‘Start-Up of the...
6 July 2020
“Virtual try”: success with leading cosmetics companies is real
There is no doubt that the health crisis is disrupting the customer experience across the globe. This is painfully clear for retailers of fashion, beauty and home furnishings. Touching and trying...
6 July 2020
Woop, the secret weapon of Aushopping Drive
Remaining discreetly in the shadow of the Mulliez Galaxy, the start-up Melting Point offers the brands within the Mulliez Family Association (like Auchan, Leroy Merlin, Decathlon, Kiabi and...
6 July 2020
Patagonia: departure of Rose Marcario, C.E.O.
Last September, Rose Marcario (as C.E.O.) received the Entrepreneurial Vision Award, on behalf of Patagonia at the United Nations Champions of the Earth Gala. She has now announced that she is...
15 June 2020
A young digital boss at Tag Heuer
Frédéric Arnault, (aged only 25) will be appointed as C.E.O. of Tag Heuer at the beginning of July. The youngest member of the Arnault clan is a graduate of the prestigious French...
15 June 2020
China. The potential of constrained travellers who spend
“In our Chinese stores, our new customers are much younger” said Jérome Bachasson, C.E.O. of German brand Hugo Boss in mainland China. For the men at the head of 150 stores in...
15 June 2020
Contactless services and customer value. Lessons from a Chinese boss
In China, Intime Retail (65 department stores and shopping centres plus the Miaojie e-commerce app.) has already reported activity back to 2019 levels. The Covid-19 crisis has allowed considerable...
15 June 2020
Alibaba’s income jumps in the 1st quarter of 2020
In the quarter ending in March 2020, Alibaba’s sales grew by 22% to 114.31 billion yuan (US$16 billion). These figures are driven by very dynamic categories (food and fresh produce), the...
15 June 2020
Underwear. The Indian demand is oriented towards comfort
During the lockdown, Indian women have switched to more comfortable lingerie products. Underwired push-ups, “balconettes” and lace varieties have given way to underwire-free bras...
15 June 2020
India. Bata bets with WhatsApp
The Czech shoe retailer Bata reopened 53% of Indian stores in a total of 1,400 units. The firm is now winning business via WhatsApp and focusing on online sales channels. “Our desire to...
15 June 2020
Sephora is engaged against racism
Sephora responded to a plea from Aurora James, founder of the Brother Vellies line of accessories, to encourage retailers to devote 15% of their sales space to black-majority businesses. As...
15 June 2020
China. Beauty is back online
Despite the coronavirus crisis, which caused cosmetics sales to fall by 80% in February 2020, international retailers are betting on the Chinese online beauty market. On Alibaba‘s...
15 June 2020
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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
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