News brief

Has online grocery in the U.S. become more popular?
Today, in the U.S.A., food retail represents also the biggest challenge and opportunity for e-commerce. According to a 2019 study from Coresight Research, 37% of U.S. consumers bought groceries...
17 June 2019
U.S. Wayfair expands into “brick & mortar”
After numerous of pop-up stores in the U.S., the online home furnishing retailer Wayfair, (most of staff are Millennial profiles) announced a new 350 sq.m store this Autumn in the Natick Mall...
17 June 2019
Brazilian giant Natura Cosmeticos grows with Avon
The British beauty company Avon is moving under a Brazilian flag. The Sao-Paulo based Natura Cosmeticos aims to purchase Avon (founded in 1886) for more than US$2 billion. With an all-stock offer...
17 June 2019
Weight loss cure for Auchan Retail
Appointed in October 2018 as President of Auchan Retail, Edgard Bonte is in the midst of a radical restructure to reduce losses. As a global player in the grocery retail sector with a turnover of...
17 June 2019
U.K. The retail property market is under pressure
The Romans called a “hectatomb” a sacrifice of at least 100 oxen. With Mothercare (60 store closures), Debenhams (50), Marks & Spencer (110), New Look (25), and now Boots (with...
17 June 2019
Italy. The potential of retail parks
According to a Duff & Phelps study published at Mapic Italy (23rd and 24th May 2019), Italy has 914 shopping centers (78% of GLA sq.m) and 214 retail parks (16% of GLA sq.m). 44% of these were...
17 June 2019
France. Leroy Merlin opens a cooking concept store
The D.I.Y. giant opened a 170 sq.m concept store in Nice at Malaussena Street. This is dedicated to the Delinia ID kitchen program. The store offers 140 models of facades and 27 kitchen handles...
17 June 2019
Switzerland. 8 Decathlon stores planned
The French chain of sporting goods (with 16 units in Switzerland) announced 8 new openings by the end of the year, according to the development director of Decathlon Switzerland. This strategy is...
17 June 2019
Germany. Rewe invests in catering
The supermarket chain Rewe bought Lekkerland. This wholesaler runs service stations, bakeries, restaurants (snacking and take-away meals) in 7 European countries. In 2018, the company generated an...
17 June 2019
Specialised retail. The biggest players expand into 2nd hand businesses
If Decathlon was a trailblazer with the Trocathlon fairs dating back to 1982, a cohort of online and offline specialised retailers are now expanding second-hand businesses, creating a trend called...
17 June 2019
Germany. Hornbach in a media storm
Presenting annual results on May 27th, the C.E.O. of the D.I.Y. chain is reeling from media outrage caused by an advertising campaign. This potentially racist advert showed Asian women swooning...
17 June 2019
Spain. Mikhail Fridman wins discounter Dia
The Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman succeeded in taking over the Dia discounter. Already the major shareholder, Fridman won the support of banks like Santander to avoid bankruptcy for Dia. The...
17 June 2019
Sweden. Ikea accelerates mobile e-commerce
The Swedish group announced an upgraded new smartphone function to allow direct product orders within the app. Available for France and the Netherlands, this will launch at the end of 2019 in 8...
17 June 2019
Department stores. Printemps flirts with new territories
Acquired in 2013 by Qatari investors for €1.6 billion, the Printemps Group is expanding again in foreign markets. By 2021 a very large department store covering more than 30,000 sq.m GLA will...
17 June 2019
In Berlin, H&M tries a “Big Data” collection
After poor results of 2018, with a turnover of €23.65 billion and a fall in new profit by 13%, the world’s second largest fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz promised to...
17 June 2019
Jeremy King. from Wal-MarT to Pinterest
Jeremy King, Chief Technology Officer at Wal-Mart, abruptly left the world’s largest retailer by sales after eight years to join the Pinterest social network, which claims itself as...
21 May 2019
Our other services
mind Research
Strategic Intelligence: Tailored research and market analysis services to power your insights and back your strategic decisions.
See more
mind Days
Networking & Events: Half-day conferences covering key industry topics and open to the entire ecosystem.
See more
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