Beisheim and Meridian, two major shareholders of Metro, have increased their stakes in the German group to just over 23 %. They also want to buy more shares in the future - possibly hoping to frustrate rival stakeholder Daniel Kretinsky?

Charlie Temple, a Dutch online optician belonging to the GrandVision group, is expanding to two more markets: Austria and Belgium.

Vesa Equity Investment, Daniel Kretinsky's investment fund, has increased its stake in French retailer Casino to above the 5 % threshold. Analysts now wonder of the Metro owner might be aiming for further consolidation.

Swiss luxury group Richemont has achieved another strong quarterly growth, but there are worrying signs from Japan and Hong Kong.

H&M plans to open a store in Panama before the end of the year: it will be the first country in Central America to welcome the Swedish fashion giant.

Today sees the start of the Belgian Deliveroo trial, regarding the status of couriers, some of whom are still self-employed. The CEO of the delivery company's Belgian branch has threatened to end his activities.

French luxury company Louis Vuitton wants to conquer the (still fragmented) jewellery market. As an eye-catcher, it is going to get the second-largest diamond ever cut in Antwerp and processed into smaller gemstones.

The social unrest in France has caused Fnac Darty to have a disappointing fourth quarter. It also became known in the margins that the company is looking for a partner for its Dutch subsidiary BCC.

Bose is going to close half of its stores worldwide: a complete retreat from Europe, North America, Japan and Australia leaves only stores in four Asian countries. The specialist in audio equipment says too many people have switched to buying its products online.

Clothing chain e5 mode, which was recently taken over by Phoenix, has announced its complete withdrawal from Wallonia. Eventually, the twelve Walloon shops will all close their doors.

In the first quarter of its financial year, Primark has again achieved growth. In some areas there was a like-for-like decrease, but that was compensated for by new stores.

Amazon has launched a special page on its website, filled with videos of various products and brands that can be purchased immediately. The new feature is called Amazon Live.

Dutch retailer Jumbo is expanding the scope of its meal delivery service. After a successful test in Groningen, customers from Amsterdam and Utrecht can also get their meals delivered at home or at work; those in Eindhoven use the pick-up service at the train station.

A shocking fact: retail sales in the United Kingdom have fallen for the first time in recorded history. In 2019, 5 % fewer visitors in shopping streets meant retail sales went down 0.1 %. In the Benelux, the number of store visitors is also declining: is there a threat of a retail drama here too?

Storesquare, an e-commerce platform for small businesses, will not survive next February. Belgian owner Roularta says ambitions were not met, nor was the break-even point.

Dutch retailers, brace yourselves: Amazon is serious about its expansion to the Netherlands. The previously announced Dutch webshop is opening its doors later this year and will offer "millions of products" straight away. Will Belgium follow in the slipstream?

German wholesaler Metro has exceeded expectations in its latest quarter. Western-European growth was 0.5 %, total turnover increased 2.2 %.

Belgian supermarket group Colruyt has announced a trial of "Collect & Go Connect", a digital platform that makes it easier to do shopping for other people.

French baby store chain Orchestra-Prémaman is taking drastic measures in Belgium: it has announced 22 store closures, to come on top of the 12 already planned. As a result, the chain will keep only 19 stores and 200 jobs.

Amazon has let go several employees with immediate effect, because of their unauthorised sharing of customer data with a third party.

Film producer Warner Bros. has announced it will open an official Wizarding World store, the very first in the world, in New York. The opening of the store that is focused on the universe of Harry Potter and its spin-offs, is expected to happen this summer - hoping to make the most of the high season.

Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize has opened a seventh store of its convenience formula Fresh Atelier, the fourth in Brussels. Soon, the third Antwerp store will also open its doors, at a prime location. The goal remains to have at least thirty stores by the end of the year.

French supermarket chain Casino wants to offload its discount chain Leader Price and is now supposedly close to a deal with Aldi.

After months of fighting for British meal delivery company Just Eat, its Dutch competitor Takeaway.com has won the struggle with investor Prosus. The deal is worth almost seven billion euros.

Six major food retailers have started 2020 with important discounts, including several who offer at least a 66 % discount to their Belgian customers. Albert Heijn is not the only one to offer "buy one, get two free" stunts, even though the Dutch chain received the most publicity for it.

The ailing French baby and children’s retail chain Orchestra-Prémaman saw its turnover increase slightly in the first nine months of the financial year. However, the way this was achieved is by no means a reason for celebration.

Marks & Spencer has had a disappointing quarter as growth in food sales was overturned by a bigger decrease in non-food sales. Especially menswear and gifts stayed under the expected turnover.

Wildberries, the largest e-commerce player in Russia, now wants to conquer the European Union with the launch of an English website and the opening of its first pick-up point in the EU, in Warsaw.

Coca-Cola has stopped its deliveries to French chains Intermarché and Netto. The retailer accuses the drinks producer of forcing it to buy more unhealthy products, but the latter denies that. The question beckons however, what about the other members of Intermarché's purchasing alliance Agecore (Colruyt, Edeka)?

What will 2020 bring for the retail sector? Growing tensions between retailers and their suppliers, fears EuroCommerce director-general Christian Verschueren. He hopes that the new European Commission will put a strong stop to increasing protectionism.

Retail giants Amazon and Walmart wage war on each other almost everywhere on the planet, including the country with the world's second largest population, India. Amazon has just signed a deal with India's second biggest retailer, after Walmart acquired online market leader Flipkart.

International growth rate does not slow down at Lidl: this year, the discounter will enter two new countries. The retailer is becoming more and more successful in keeping costs under control and is focusing more on e-commerce and sustainability, as we can conclude from an in-depth analysis of recently published financial results.