An enigma, that is the man who just bought Blokker's Belgium branch and wants to turn it into a discounter. We tried to shed some light on the notoriously reclusive Mega World owner.

Days after Alibaba, Apple too has now issued a warning about the consequences of the coronavirus. The epidemic has hit the iPhone maker harder than expected, and it has also affected the results of many other companies: from small to large, from electronics to fashion, no one is spared.

Carrefour has acquired thirty Makro stores in Brazil and further strengthens its position in what is for the French group a hugely important market.

British retailer Marks & Spencer is reported to have told its landlords it would close more stores than the 110 already doomed by its transformation plan. In fact, all underperforming stores are said to be threatened.

Alibaba has had another record-breaking quarter, with a 38 % turnover growth and significant profit gains. However, the corona crisis may spell very bad news for the e-commerce giant.

Barry Callebaut has announced the unveiling of what it calls "the world's first personalized 3D printed chocolate at scale", which would allow it to create unique chocolate experiences. The innovation allows the company to "address consumers’ desire for an instagrammable life".

The end of this month will also spell the end for Belgian fashion brand A.F. Vandevorst, the life-long dream of An Vandevorst en Filip Arickx - both former assistants to members of the Antwerp Six.

Swiss food group Nestlé saw its turnover go up in 2019, with pet foot brand Purina as strongest link in the chain. Bottled water, however, is a completely different story.

Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn is to expand its home delivery service to Belgium in the next few months. The Antwerp region will be the first to trial the expanded service, but the retailer already looks further...

(advertorial) Tavola, the biennial trade fair for food professionals with a passion for taste, will take place from March 15 to 17 in Kortrijk Xpo this year. 500 strong market leaders and artisan producers will present a unique range of strictly selected delicatessen and delicious high-end products. 

Cosmetics chain The Body Shop has started an ‘open hiring’ pilot: literally the first person who walks in for a job can have it, without checks or tests - except for three simple questions.

Meal delivery company Takeaway.com has achieved a strong turnover growth last year, assisted by the acquisition of Delivery Hero in Germany. For the first time since the IPO in 2016, the company recorded a positive gross operating result.

Luxembourg is joining the group of countries that have embraced the Nutri-Score food label, like France and Belgium. Nevertheless, the objective remains European harmonisation.

In the difficult Belgian market, Delhaize is struggling to grow but manages to increase its market share. Ahold Delhaize CEO Frans Muller has reservations about the increasing competition, saying "This can not go on."

Unilever, the multinational that owns ice cream brands such as Magnum, will no longer target children under 12 on traditional and social media. The measure follows alarming reports from organisations such as the World Health Organisation regarding childhood obesity.

2019 restored hope for French sports chain Decathlon, after a disappointing 2018: turnover increased by 9 % to 12.4 billion euros. However, there is no mention of the profit (which had deteriorated enormously in 2018).

Everything we find normal online today, we owe to Amazon. But to become even more successful, the empire of Jeff Bezos will also have to break through in fashion and food. That cannot happen without physical stores, says retail expert Natalie Berg of NBK Retail.

As of September, Jon Abrahamsson Ring will be the CEO of Inter Ikea, the company that manages the intellectual property of the Swedish furniture chain. He has been a close associate of founder Ingvar Kamprad for four years.

In July, Jean-François van Boxmeer will step down as Heineken CEO after fifteen years at the helm. He is passing the torch on to Dutchman Dolf van den Brink, saying it is time to make way for the younger generation.

Ahold Delhaize ended 2019 on a high: sales and profit increased slightly more than expected, and online sales grew by more than 30 %. Dutch Albert Heijn and Belgian Delhaize both gained market share, American growth came mostly from online.

The European competition watchdog has confirmed it has opened an investigation into food producer Mondelez' alleged price fixing and illegal blocking of cross-border sales. 

Bol.com is a superpower in the Benelux e-commerce sector, but its exact figures have long been a well-kept secret. In order to support its own share price, owner Ahold Delhaize has been considering more openness about the figures in recent months, but for fear of Amazon's expansion to the Netherlands, this plan has been abandoned.

Secretary-general Geoffroy Gersdorff has left Carrefour Belgium to take up a new position at the global headquarters of the retailer in Massy (near Paris). He becomes director of goods and purchasing food, with immediate effect.

L’Oréal has had a very good 2019: the company achieved its biggest increase in turnover in ten years and also saw its profits increase significantly. The cosmetics group also announced that it has appointed Ilham Kadri, CEO of Belgian chemical company Solvay, to the post of director.

(update) Dutch chain De Bijenkorf has confirmed it will create a French language version of its web shop to cater to France and the southern part of Belgium. Moreover, the company's German web shop will start delivering to Austria as well.

Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt is taking a stand against one of its biggest suppliers: empty spaces on the beverage shelves are appearing where products from Coca-Cola used to be. This is the result of an escalating conflict between the soft drinks producer and European purchasing alliance Agecore. What is going on in the background?

Swiss retailer Migros has sold its department store chain Globus to a joint venture of Austrian Signa and the Central Group from Thailand. The Austrians are building a department store empire throughout Europe, after acquiring (amongst others) Kaufhaus and Karstadt.

The European purchasing alliance Agecore is increasing the pressure on soft drink producer Coca-Cola. After Intermarché and Netto in France and Edeka in Germany, Belgian Colruyt is now also joining the boycott.

Various sources are reporting that Verlinvest, the investment company of the de Spoelberch family, will take a minority stake in the ethical chocolate producer Tony's Chocolonely. The family is one of the main owners of AB InBev .

Zalando has expanded its loyalty program Zalando Plus to French consumers. Initially, however, the service is only available in Paris.

Belgian vegans are advised to do their shopping at both Ahold Delhaize chains, a study found out. Albert Heijn offers the largest vegan selection, closely followed by Delhaize. The discounters Aldi and Lidl are on the other side of the spectrum.

The collaboration between Dutch chains Jumbo and Hema, which they had already announced in November last year, started this morning with a festive ceremony in the Jumbo Food Market in Breda. Other stores in the Netherlands and Belgium will follow soon.