Alibaba Group seems to be handling the current trade war between China and the US quite well, as its turnover and profit growth went into double figures again. Moreover, the Chinese company is preparing the acquisition of competitor Kaola.

Belgian online pharmacy Newpharma wants to double its turnover every three years, and looks to Southern Europe for growth as those markets are not mature yet.

German chains MediaMarkt and Saturn have seen their losses grow by 50 % and turnover stagnate, but owner Ceconomy believes the future is positive as transformation should bring rewards.

Maison Martin Margiela is the next victim in a long line of fashion retailers to admit defeat against a combination of high rents and changing customers. Its Brussels store said turnover fell by 50 % since 2011, making the high rents untenable.

Meal delivery service Deliveroo is quitting the German market as of this Friday. The company says it wants to focus on better-performing markets.

Sports brand Nike has launched a subscription for kids' sneakers in the United States, trying to increase convenience for parents... but it is also an attempt to secure some market share.

A merger of Belgo-Dutch supermarket group Ahold Delhaize and its American competitor Kroger would make sense and allow for 1.2 billion euros in synergies. Together, they would be able to increase their value in the United States by 36 %.

Tesco, the biggest British supermarket chain, has called for the reform of 'business rates' (a commercial real estate tax) and suggested the introduction of an online tax - which it would have to pay itself as well.

Carrefour had planned to open an automated store in the centre of Brussels, but technical and logistical considerations made the French retailer shelve its plans.

A major restructuring in France and the yellow vests weighed down the accounts of Belgian retailer Louis Delhaize (not a part of the Ahold Delhaize group). The owner of Cora and Match also suffered losses in Belgium and Romania.

Capri Holdings, the owner of brands like Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo, has performed better than analysts had expected in the last quarter. However, the required investments cut a great deal out of the profit.

French retailer Géant Casino will trial a with a staff-less hypermarket in Angers. The law on Sunday's rest would be avoided by only employing security personnel, but trade unions fear this will precipitate the end of the job of cashier.

The major Belgian supermarket chains have lower profit margins than five years ago, and that is before Dutch Jumbo is set to disrupt the market even more. The reason is clear: the competition gets tougher and discounts, meant to lure more customers, cut the profitability.

Belgian restructuring specialist Stefaan Vansteenkiste is promoted to CEO at Debenhams, in an attempt to save the British department store chain from bankruptcy.

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says a vegetarian or vegan diet for all is an absolute must to avoid our planet being damaged beyond repair. Pastures must also be converted into woodland, the IPCC says.

Google's Images pages are increasingly looking like pages of the search engine's Shopping section, now product information and prices, reviews and availability are added to Images search results.

After Apple started selling its products directly on Amazon, a lot of external sellers were banned from the platform and prices have gone up. A US watchdog looks if this is legal.

In September, French retail giant Carrefour is to open the first two stores of its Spanish discounter Supeco ('supermercado economico' or 'cheap supermarket') in France. The stores will open in Valenciennes, near the Belgian border. The discounter is going through a fast international growth.

Changes in shopping behaviour in its customers force British market leader Tesco to cut 4,500 jobs in 153 proximity stores that carry the Tesco Metro banner. The size of these stores is somewhere in between that of hypermarkets and that of Express stores.

Carrefour Belgium has suffered a record 55.6 million euro loss last year, as costs for a major restructuring mounted. The hypermarkets specifically are still in a terrible shape.

Despite the strike at American subsidiary Stop & Shop, Ahold Delhaize was able to limit the damage to its financial results. Dutch bol.com performed strongly, Belgian Delhaize less so.

Mega Image, Ahold Delhaize's Romanian subsidiary, has opened a first store in Bucharest of a new concept called Fresh Bazar. As the name suggests, the pilot store focuses on fresh produce.

Time is running out for Daniel Kretinsky's takeover bid on German retail holding Metro. The offer ends on 7 August, but is a deal still possible given the many people opposing it?

Zalando has increased its forecast for the full year 2019 after it had an excellent second quarter, in which turnover went up 20 % to 1.6 billion euros.

The value of retail property is now also beginning to decline in prime locations. This trend has spread from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands and is beginning to wreak havoc in Belgium too.

Royal Swinkels Family Brewers, the Dutch brewery that produces Bavaria, Palm and Rodenbach, has acquired a 40 % minority share in the Georgian brewery Argo.

At the end of this month, Amazon will terminate its Dash order buttons. Earlier this year, the American e-commerce giant had already stopped selling the buttons, but said then they would continue to work.

Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn is testing selling part of its product range through online market place bol.com. Both are part of the Ahold Delhaize group, which hopes that both of its subsidiaries can profit from the cooperation.

Amazon will not pay the "Amazon tax" or "Gafa tax" in France, the American e-tailer said in response to the recent ratification of that law. Instead, it will be increasing its selling rates by 3 % in that country, so that the suppliers will in effect pay the tax.

Belgian shoe store chain Schoenen Torfs has seen its profits more than halved, due to the success of its web shop. Turnover went up, but costs soared.

AB InBev has had its beers banned from the capital of India, New Delhi, as local authorities say the Belgian brewery group has dodged taxes. The ban is valid for three years.