News brief

Trending topics

Eager to gain a share in African e-commerce, the German logistician DHL signed a partnership with MallforAfrica, a Nigerian start-up founded in 2011. In addition to its logistics business, the...

9 October 2019

“The current offer in the Gulf is not sufficiently tailored to Chinese customers”

12 months ahead of the World Expo in Dubai, retailers of the Middle East are adapting stores and services to meet expectations of a large clientele from China. Patrick Chalhoub, C.E.O. of the...

9 October 2019

Decathlon enters Algeria

Decathlon, Europe’s largest sporting goods retailer, made inroads in Algeria with a first store. It is in the Bab Ezzouar mall, in the East side of Algiers. It is spread over 1,850 sq.m of...

9 October 2019

The Home Depot grew sales by 40% in 8 years with a steady store network

Based in the U.S., the world’s largest home equipment retailer revealed an amazing U-turn in terms of retail strategy, opening an e-commerce website dedicated to professional customers...

9 October 2019

Kroger recovers growth by omni-channel investment

According to Kantar the online F.M.C.G. sales in the U.S. jumped by 36% in 2018 and accounted for 4.4% of the total grocery market. However, Kroger (US$121 billion revenue in 2018, a fall of 1.2%)...

9 October 2019

Muji “no-brand” retailer wins in the U.S. marketing fief

Since August 2018, Toru Akita has run the North American business as C.E.O. of Muji after having orchestrated expansion in Canada, China, Indonesia and the Philippines. This new responsibility is...

9 October 2019

How U.S. retailers try to influence visitor numbers

The latest statistics available from the New York comptroller’s company highlight a profound trend in the U.S.A, with data from 2007 to 2017. Competitive pressure from online shopping and...

9 October 2019

Which valuation will C&A reach ahead of Brazilian I.P.O.?

The Dutch fashion retailer plans an I.P.O. on the Brazilian stock market and to raise US$220 million in the primary offer, with the secondary offer still to be defined. According to financial...

9 October 2019

Unibail and ECE in fierce competition in Germany

From January 1st 2020, URW will take over the management of 2 of the most successful malls in Germany, previously ran by ECE: Breuningerland in Sindelfingen and Breuningerland in Ludwigsburg...

9 October 2019

In London, The Body Shop operates refill and returns

In a store near Bond Street station (London), The Body Shop launched a refill station, initially for shower gel then adding a free water unit. If this pilot is successful, it should be rolled out...

9 October 2019

Apsys dedicates 50% of its retail park to leisure

Apsys, family-owned real estate company with 31 assets in France and Poland (€2.5 billion in assets and €4.3 billion under management in 2018) has inaugurated in September 2019 Eden (in...

9 October 2019

Marks & Spencer must reinvent itself from the U.K. to the Gulf

The iconic Marks & Spencer retailer (turnover of €12.2 billion in the year to late March 2019 via 1,035 stores in the U.K. and 428 internationally) has been knocked off a pedestal. On...

9 October 2019

Primark doesn’t want to be a symbol of “disposable” fashion

In the fiscal year ending in September 4, 2019, Primark posted mixed results. Margins were less generous than in the past but sales were up by 4% to €8.4 billion. This was driven by 14 store...

9 October 2019

How can hypermarkets save a full time per year?

According to Fabrice Haïat, Co-founder of the Yoobic software editor, “our solution enables grocery retailers to check only the required “end-of-life” products instead of...

9 October 2019

Picard makes inroads in Norway

Already successfully selling in Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, Picard (950 stores) just opened its 1st unit in Norway. This store of 100 sq.m is in the Niels Juels...

9 October 2019

Debenhams bets on a Middle East franchise

With a new C.E.O. as turnaround specialist, Stefaan Vansteenkiste, the British department store firm of Debenhams (revenue of US$ 2.3 billion in 2018, a fall of 2.4% from the previous year)...

9 October 2019

1…80 818283 84…156

Our other services

mind Research

Strategic Intelligence: Tailored research and market analysis services to power your insights and back your strategic decisions.

mind Days

Networking & Events: Half-day conferences covering key industry topics and open to the entire ecosystem.

Our mind news

See all

How Upsellr boosts conversion at Les Mousquetaires and targets traditional PIMs

While his start-up shakes up an array of players focused on product data management solutions, Edouard Margain, Co-Founder of Upsellr, shared with us at NRF Europe the results of the data...

19 September 2026

Hanshow makes a breakthrough in the US but stumbles on the economics of smart trolley

While at NRF Europe, Hanshow revealed a major contract with one of the U.S. retail giants to mind Retail, its smart trolley has yet to prove a market match. A hardware-focused strategy that raises...

18 September 2026

Hugues Chanoine (Hygie31 Digital): “The next step is to eliminate filters to move to 100% conversational search”

The Hygie31 retail group, known for the Lafayette Pharmacies, is continuing to transform its websites, driven by Cocooncenter. Thanks to an AI strategy and a fully redesigned IT architecture, it...

10 September 2026

ChatGPT: Bureau Vallée’s recipe to capture back-to-school spending

By launching a conversational chatbot with Algolia and a new module converting school lists into e-commerce carts this summer, Bureau Vallée aims to ease the chore of back-to-school supply list...

10 September 2026