Ceconomy, the owner of the Media Markt and Saturn chains, is to show its CEO Jörn Werner the door - despite the fact that he had only started his job in March and was fully engaged with the restructuring.

In order to combat rising vacancy rates, owners of commercial real estate are heavily pressured into offering significant discounts - often as high as 15 %, but sometimes even up to 50 %.

Makro's Belgian cash & carry stores have been able to 'almost' stabilise their turnover in the past financial year, after figures had been falling by 10 % and more for many years. However, a break-even is not yet in sight for the Metro subsidiary.

British investment company Permira wants to sell its footwear brand Dr. Martens. The label has had an excellent year and the holding company now wants to cash in on that.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), 363 billion euros of food is wasted every year before even reaching the shelves. Poor storage infrastructure is the biggest culprit.

After a few months of testing in Spain, discounter Lidl is going to roll out its own payment service, Lidl Pay, to at least two other countries.

The West African cocoa industry, which accounts for almost two-thirds of world production, has put an ultimatum before the major chocolate producers: either pay a higher price for the cocoa, or cease to sell the chocolate as ‘sustainable’.

Large flagship stores continue to distinguish themselves through their unique experience and local anchoring, according to former Kaufhof leader Olivier Van den Bossche. Department stores might also take on the role of omni-channel hubs in the future.

German retail giant Metro has sold a ​​majority interest in its Chinese operations to local retailer Wumart. The sale fits in with the group’s strategy to focus more on professional customers.

Dutch bed retailer Beter Bed has succeeded in offloading its German subsidiary, Matratzen Concord, to investor Magical Honour. The latter is paying five million euros for the controversial mattress retailer and will invest just as much in Beter Bed Holding itself.

Over the past ten years, the number of shops in Flanders and Brussels has decreased by 15 %. Strangely, the vacancy rate increased, but so too did the amount of retail space that was actually used. E-commerce is often presented as the culprit, but the story is actually much more complex than that.

Following a new investment, H&M Group has acquired a majority stake in re-commerce platform Sellpy. The investment should support the platform's expansion abroad, as well as fitting in with H&M's objective of becoming more sustainable.

FNG, the parent company of Miss Etam and Claudia Sträter, among others, is restructuring its Dutch head office organisation, resulting in the loss of 50 jobs. At the same time, the company has announced the appointment of Richard Turk as the Managing Director for FNG Netherlands.

The Belgian branch of Thomas Cook Retail, which filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago, is partly starting over again under the umbrella of the Spanish travel agency, Wamos. As a result of the takeover, 195 employees were able to return to work.

Online supermarket Picnic is going to equip some of its electric vans with solar panels. The trial is a new step in the online supermarket’s policy of making deliveries in the most sustainable way possible.

The French luxury products group LVMH, which owns such iconic brands as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Dom Pérignon, has once again amazed the market with its astounding quarterly results.

Last week, Ahold Delhaize officially opened its AI for Retail Lab (AIR Lab) in Delft. It’s not the only initiative in the field of artificial intelligence. Through 'Kickstart AI', the company, together with 4 other large Dutch companies (ING, KLM, NS and Philips), wants to give AI a boost in the Netherlands.

Just dock at the supermarket during your boat trip? A Dutch Spar was the world’s first to do it, but from March, it is also possible at Delhaize in Hasselt. The new establishment on the Kanaalkom, in the brand-new Quartier Bleu district, will be located on a stretch of quay where sailors can moor.

The German retail group Rewe is being given the green light for the acquisition of Lekkerland, which in Belgium also includes wholesaler Conway. This will create a new European superpower in the convenience sector.

Lots of consumers use marketplaces like bol.com and Amazon not just to buy products, but also as a source of information:  they look for details about products, which they then buy from a physical store.

Meal delivery company Takeaway.com reports that the number of orders has increased by no less than 87 % in the third quarter. Moreover, the company is now profitable for the first time.

Inter Ikea (owner of the Ikea brand and manager of the franchise activities) may still have to pay millions of euros in taxes the company is said to have avoided, if two deals with the Dutch tax authorities are revoked.

Ecover and AB InBev have joined forces: the manufacturer of environmentally friendly detergents is using residual alcohol (a waste product left over from the production of alcohol-free beer) as a raw material for a new detergent.

Dutch fashion brand Scotch & Soda has suffered a net loss of 12.9 million euros in its latest financial year. The new CEO, Frederick Lukoff, wants to grow the brand abroad by highlighting values such as freedom and tolerance.

Dutch textile discounter Zeeman is going to close several dozens of stores in the Netherlands over the coming years. Growth will therefore have to come from e-commerce and new stores abroad, especially in Southern Europe.

Belgian online pharmacy Viata has raised 3.8 million euros to finance its international growth. The money comes from Antwerp-based family business Alcopa and a new loan.

French holding company Cafom is looking to sell its subsidiary Habitat. Loss-making branches of the furniture chain are to be closed.

Amazon is currently in talks to make the technology behind its cashierless Go stores available to other parties, such as retailers in airports and cinemas.

Fashion web shop Zalando has opened a temporary shop in Madrid, where customers can try on virtual clothing. However, there are no actual items of clothing in the Spanish shop.

Dutch glasses discounter Eyelove is going to expand into France. The company wants to capitalise on a new healthcare law that is entering into force next year, which obliges opticians to also offer cheaper pairs of glasses.

The European Commission has imposed a fine of 31.6 million euros on canned vegetable producers CEBAB and Coroos for running a cartel. Bonduelle, who revealed the existence of the cartel, escaped a 250 million euro fine.