The Dutch Blokker Holding has adopted a new name: Mirage Retail Group. This kills two birds with one stone: it avoids confusion between the Holding and the eponymous store chain, and cuts the ties with the former owners.

Valérie Hermann, president of global brands at Ralph Lauren, will be leaving her position after three years. It is not yet known who will succeed her.

Google is fast becoming an online department store: in the United States, the company has launched the newest version of Google Shopping, including direct checkout and strong personalisation.

French supermarket group E. Leclerc is fined for 117 million euros because the company forces suppliers to lower their prices through its Belgian purchasing centre. French law prohibits this sort of pressure.

Austrian retail group Signa Retail (the owner of German department store chains Karstadt and Galeria Kaufhof) has founded a New Business branch, that should bring about more digital competences and innovation.

Asahi from Japan has bought Australian brewery group Carlton & United Breweries for ten billion euros. Seller AB InBev, the largest brewery group in the world, wants to lower its debt rate with this deal, after the disappointment of a failed IPO.

French luxury group Richemont has seen its turnover increase by 12 % in the first quarter of the current financial year, as its online activities grew spectacularly.

Haniel has accepted EP Global Commerce's takeover bid on its remaining Metro shares. The question is now what the other shareholders will do.

Fashion label Stella McCartney has closed a deal with French luxury house LVMH to accelerate its development. Interesting detail: only last year, Stella McCartney left Kering, another French luxury concern.

Danish toy producer Lego is to open its first two stores in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam and Utrecht. They will open later this year, but well in time for the holiday season, the company says.

Carlos Crespo's appointment as CEO of Inditex, which was announced earlier, has been officially confirmed by the Spanish fashion group's general meeting.

Swiss watchmaker Swatch has seen its turnover and profit drop over the past six months, due to political tensions in China and what it calls the "grey market": unofficial traders selling the watches at discount prices.

European Commissioner Margarethe Vestager is opening an official inquest into Amazon, which she believes is treating the sellers on its platform unfairly.

Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize is changing the composition of its Board of Directors as Françoise Burlet leaves the company. The EVP Commerce is responsible for buying, marketing, quality and store concepts: those will be divided among two other directors.

Bringing in Italian designer Riccardo Tisci was a fruitful move for British luxury brand Burberry, which performed very well in its latest quarter.

Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo has achieved a 16.5 % turnover growth this semester, increasing its market share to 21.6 %. Expansion towards Belgium is next on the agenda.

Belgian beer giant AB InBev has decided to cancel the IPO of its Asian branch: demand for the stock was expected to disappoint due to its launch price, which American investors thought was too high. The supposedly biggest FMCG flotation of all time therefore is no more.

Activists and Amazon employees in the United States and Germany are using the two-day discount event Prime Day to protest against several aspects of the e-commerce giant.

Frozen potato brand Lutosa is changing its name to Belviva, with which it wants to emphasise its Belgian identity... and avoid legal problems.

Fast Retailing, the Japanese parent company of clothing brand Uniqlo, has seen continued turnover growth in the third quarter. International activities have performed particularly well.

The French government has introduced a tax aimed at large online companies like Amazon. The United Kingdom is looking to follow suit, despite Trump's reprisal threats.

Pop star Lady Gaga will launch her own beauty brand, called Haus Laboratories, exclusively for Amazon. Starting from September, the label will be for sale in nine countries.

Google employees listen to, and analyse in detail, recordings made by its Home speakers and the Assistant app on smartphones. And all that without clear notification, let alone permission, a Belgian news show claims.

The shareholders of DIY group Kingfisher (which includes such chains as B&Q and Brico Dépôt) are protesting the severance payment of departing CEO Véronique Laury, who would be receiving 552,000 pounds (610,000 euros).

Valérie Chapoulaud-Floquet, the CEO of French liquor group Rémy Cointreau, will be leaving her position at the end of the year, as the group announced "with sadness".

PepsiCo has outperformed expectations with a 2.2 % organic turnover growth. Especially a growing sparkling water department pushed the FMCG producer forward on its way to achieving its own predictions.

Superdry is sinking deep: the British fashion label has now reached a record loss of more than one hundred million euros, while turnover remains stagnant.

Two Dutch retail organisations have issued a joint report that says non-European webstores such as AliExpress are not in compliance with local regulations. Detailhandel Nederland and Thuiswinkel.org therefore think such shops have a competitive advantage that is deemed unfair.

Levi Strauss saw its first quarter on the stock market end on a negative note: there was less profit than envisioned, to the investors' disappointment. Still, sales of the jeans brand went up in every market.

Amazon's new return policy in the United States allows customers to drop their products without package or labels in thousands of sales points, nationwide and free of charge.

Samsung is suffering from the trade war between the United States and China: for the third quarter in a row, the smartphone producer predicts lower profits. Fortunately, the decrease is less dramatic than initially feared.