The French competition watchdog has fined Italian eyewear giant Luxottica 125 million euros for engaging in cartel agreements. The manufacturer is appealing.

It has long been speculated, but now it's official: after years of internal dissension and family strife, the Bielefeld-based Oetker group is being split into two.

Former fashion empire FNG, owner of Scandinavian e-commerce platform Ellos, is forced to convene an interim general meeting, but stresses that the announced relaunch is not in jeopardy.

The game of musical chairs at the top of Schwarz Gruppe continues. The German discount group has brought back old acquaintance Ken McGrath to become vice-chairman of Lidl. It seems likely that he will soon replace current chairman Gerd Chrzanowski, who is on his way to the top position at Schwarz, where recently a power shake-up took place.

Due to the rapid increase in infections with the delta variant of the coronavirus, many retail employees have to go into quarantine. Especially in the UK, but also in the Netherlands, this leads to empty shelves and even store closures.

Even though Wereldhave Belgium recorded strong results during the first six months of the year, the property lessor is lowering its profit forecast for the entire year. After all, the retail industry is not out of the woods yet.

At the end of this year, Jumbo will open its first Belgian store that is operated by an independent entrepreneur. In this way, the Dutch supermarket chain wants to speed up its expansion.

In and around the European institutions, the temperature of the discussion concerning the Commission's plan to more strictly regulate large tech and e-commerce platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon is slowly rising. Small and large webshops, which have seen enormous growth since Covid, are following the situation closely. So what exactly is it all about?

The chances of an actual bidding war on British supermarket chain Morrisons have been reduced significantly, after one of the interested parties said it would not bid on its own.

Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo has grown strongly over the past six months, and is on track to achieve an annual turnover exceeding ten billion euros for the first time in its 100-year history.

The need consumers feel to return to shopping physically after the pandemic is largely related to age, a study by Forrester demonstrates.

French spirits group Rémy Cointreau has made an excellent start to the fiscal year, benefiting from the reopening of cafés and restaurants.

Through investment company L Catterton, Bernard Arnault's luxury group LVMH is acquiring a majority stake in Milan-based fashion house Etro.

Colruyt Group takes a minority stake in the Belgian-based start-up Robinetto, which supplies water dispensing systems to the catering industry, institutions and businesses.

Over the last three months, Ceconomy, the parent company of MediaMarkt and Saturn, has seen comparable sales increase by around 8 per cent. However, in Germany, the group's most important market, the recovery is slow.

The pandemic marks a turning point for retail: shopping will never be what it was before. What can explain the dominance of marketplaces like Amazon, and why is gaming the new shopping? A new report points out the trends. Keep an eye on TikTok, too…

Even though some corona restrictions are still in place, luxury label Burberry's sales are back to pre-pandemic levels.

In North Sydney, Aldi has opened the first branch of a new, smaller retail format. In terms of both range and design, it is a real break from the past.

The John Lewis Partnership, the owner of the John Lewis department store chain and Waitrose, is cutting around a thousand jobs as part of a reorganisation of its store management.

The first product with the Eco-Score on its packaging has recently hit the shelves at Colruyt. In the short term, about 35 other products of private label Boni Selection will receive the score.

The German Schwarz Group, which includes Lidl and Kaufland, had a healthy 2020. Its turnover rose by 10 per cent to 125.3 billion euros. 

It has been an eventful first half-year for Just Eat Takeaway: the meal delivery company received 61 per cent more orders in the last six months, merged with the US company Grubhub and nevertheless posted record-breaking losses.

Fashion chain C&A is launching a new, more ambitious sustainability target for 2028. The key points: more sustainable sourcing, extending the lifespan of products and reducing single-use plastic.

Dutch eyewear chain Hans Anders has launched an AI tool on its website. An algorithm teaches the app to give personal online eyewear advice. In time, the app may also find its way to other markets, including those of its sister chain eyes + more.

Last year was the best ever in the history of the European bicycle sector. Europeans bought as many as 22 million bicycles, pushing turnover upwards by no less than 40 % to 18.3 billion euros. E-bikes in particular are enormously popular. More and more bicycles are produced locally.

Hugo Boss was able to double its quarterly turnover as shoppers return to stores in droves now that corona measures are easing just about everywhere. The fashion retailer sees its sales climb to almost the level of 2019.

On Wednesday the first branch of fast food chain Chick&Cheez opened in Liège. This ambitious newcomer on the busy market of chicken restaurants wants 38 Belgian branches by 2024 and plans a roll-out to France.

Campari and LVMH subsidiary Moët Hennessy are joining forces online: the beverage producers are forming a joint venture, with which they will invest in e-commerce.

Colruyt Group is stepping into the capital of the Walloon start-up Digiteal, which has developed a handy mobile payment app. "We are constantly looking for solutions that make our customers' lives easier", says the retailer.

Coolblue’s Belgian turnover grows faster than its group turnover, thanks to the opening of new stores and the roll-out to the French-speaking part of the country. The retailer belongs to the winners of the corona crisis.

Nespresso currently recycles a third of its capsules and uses coffee that is 93 per cent sustainable. These are the preliminary result after seven years of The Positive Cup sustainability strategy, which, so far, has cost the coffee producer 540 million euros.