In the Netherlands, a curfew will be in place from 8.30 p.m. Friday, while in Germany, customers are no longer welcome with a mask made from textile. Which coronavirus measures still apply to retailers in Europe today?

Birkenstock is in advanced takeover negotiations with investment group CVC Capital. For 4 billion euros, the 250-year-old sandal brand may become a sister of luxury watch brand Breitling.

Superdry saw its losses increase significantly in the first half of the broken fiscal year. Meanwhile, the coronavirus crisis continues to weigh on the British fashion group. The start of the third quarter also appears to be anything but successful.

Fnac Darty, also the mother company of Vanden Borre, is satisfied with 2020: despite two lockdowns, turnover remained more or less stable. In the fourth quarter, there was even growth of nearly 10 per cent. E-commerce accounted for some 30 per cent of total sales.

The activist investment fund Bluebell, which acquired stakes in Danone at the end of last year, is calling for the departure of current CEO Emmanuel Faber, dissatisfied with the results he has achieved.

Picnic almost doubled its turnover in 2019, although losses also increased. In the meantime, the online supermarket is preparing to expand into France - and who knows, into Belgium also?

Marks & Spencer is one of the first major brands to join the movement that is calling to end forced labour in the cotton and garment industry in the region of Xinjiang, China.

Amazon and the "Big Five" publishers have been accused of colluding on keeping ebook prices artificially high. The case was filed by the same law firm that brought Apple to its knees ten years ago when it was guilty of similar practices.

Belgian bankrupt outlet chain Mega World has not found a buyer after all: the bid of the only candidate, a German retailer, turned out not to be sufficient.

Takeover talks between Carrefour and Couche-Tard have been halted. However, both companies are looking at how they can work more closely together in the future.

In the autumn of this year, all of Jysk's German stores currently called Dänisches Bettenlager will be renamed Jysk. The Danish furniture retailer has already done the same in Austria.

Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, has just launched in Germany. The company is also looking to expand into other European countries.

Food and beverage company PepsiCo aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions across its entire supply chain to zero by 2040. That's 10 years earlier than called for in the Paris Agreement.

This year, food retailers are bringing the out-of-home experience into homes, making e-commerce profitable, and helping customers to be healthier. At least that is what research firm IGD predicts for 2021.

Primark saw its sales fall by thirty per cent in the last quarter. The cut-price fashion chain already published a turnover warning at the end of last year.

Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever, thinks global consumption will remain at a low level for a while, despite signs of improvement in East Asia, Latin America and elsewhere.

Walmart has partnered with smart box manufacturer HomeValet to facilitate the delivery of perishable food items. The system offers great advantages for both the consumer and the supermarket chain.

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire is already threatening to torpedo a possible takeover deal between Carrefour and Canadian Couche-Tard under the guise of "food sovereignty".

The Belgian fashion chain e5 Mode, currently under debt protection, seems to have caught the eye of a Danish fashion holding. It does face competition from Dutch and Belgian potential buyers, however, including one supported by the Flemish government.

What does Alimentation Couche-Tard want to achieve with a possible takeover of Carrefour? Can a petrol shop specialist save the hypermarket? One thing is clear: the French retail group is for sale...

Meal delivery company Just Eat Takeaway's fourth-quarter figures for 2020 show that it is a big winner in the current corona crisis. The number of orders increased by more than half.

Half-empty shelves and scarcity of fish: barely two weeks after Brexit came into force, the chaos has arrived. A (non-exhaustive) overview.

Nomad Foods, the company behind Iglo and Belviva among others, is in exclusive negotiations with Fortenova Group to acquire Frozen Food Business Group (FFBG).

Farmers blame the big chains for getting too little for their produce, but the supermarkets refute this. A Dutch agricultural economist nuances the discussion. "Nobody in the chain earns excessively," states Willy Baltussen of Wageningen University.

Topshop parent Arcadia has a prospective buyer: G-III Apparel, owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Guess among others, is said to be bidding for the bankrupt British fashion empire.

The Belgian family business Facq, a specialist distributor of bathrooms and heating, is being taken over by GC-Gruppe, a German sector partner. The Facq family will remain a minority shareholder.

Canadian supermarket group Alimentation Couche-Tard wants to acquire Carrefour. Friendly introductory talks are already ongoing, both companies admit.

American ice cream producer Ben & Jerry's is looking to capitalise on the growing pet food market. The company is launching 2 new flavours, specially made for dogs.

Fashion brand Object, part of Bestseller, collaborates with Swedish innovator Renewcell to produce clothing made (partially) from recycled textiles.

In the Netherlands, the lockdown is extended by three weeks. Non-food representative INretail insists on substantial additional support measures.

Investment company Permira wants to take its British shoe brand Dr. Martens to the London Stock Exchange in the near future. The funds raised will support further international expansion and the development of e-commerce.