Toy chains King Jouet and Maxi Toys are intensifying their cooperation: in France, all stores will be branded as King Jouet (as is the case in Switzerland). In Belgium and Luxembourg, they will remain Maxi Toys stores. No jobs will be lost.

Carrefour enters the world of social shopping and livestreaming by setting up Brut Shop, a joint venture that aims to become the French market leader in the field of 'social commerce'. Although there is still work to be done...

Alphabet has achieved record profits as it was able to sell more ads than expected, pushed forward by the growth of e-commerce. The owner of Google and YouTube now sees NFTs as new source of revenue.

Belgian retailer Colruyt has reached a price agreement with Nestlé, after a price dispute had led the Swiss multinational to suspend its deliveries. Those deliveries will now be resumed. Likewise, a dispute with Ferrero has also been resolved.

Roland Palmer, who was promoted to general manager of Alibaba for the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries, now also takes charge of the Belgian branch.

The cosmetics chain The Body Shop has appointed Caroline Le Roch as Managing Director Europe. She succeeds Qasar Qayyum who has been transferred to a new position.

This week, Zalando is integrating Beats and Apple products into its product range in five countries. The new product offering will enable the fashion platform to strengthen its ambition further to be the go-to place for fashion and lifestyle.

FMCG producer Henkel is merging two of its three divisions: the laundry & home care and beauty care divisions will fuse. Only the adhesive technologies department will remain a separate entity. Staff will feel the consequences.

Despite dwindling margins, Mondelez was able to increase sales in the final quarter. The snacks manufacturer expects an even stronger headwind in the coming months as the group is coping with labour shortages and fears further rising inflation.

British market leader Tesco is closing its discount chain Jack's, which could never live up to the expectations in the battle with Aldi and Lidl. They are far from alone: success stories in this regard are very rare. Yet "we have learnt a lot", says the retailer.

Belgian customers no longer need to cross the border to get the cheapest shopping basket, claims Colruyt. the discounter claims to be cheaper than Dutch competitors such as Jumbo and Albert Heijn or French rivals like E. Leclerc and Auchan.

Fashion giant H&M increased its profit ninefold last year. Profitability is better than it has been in years, and sales are also back at pre-pandemic levels. So it is time for the fast-fashion giant to set new ambitions...

2021 was another record year for LVMH, beating 2020 as well as pre-Covid 2019. The owner of famous brands like Louis Vuitton has faith in the future, but not in the metaverse - focusing on "selling culture" instead.

Despite forced store closures in several countries, Dutch non-food discounter Action has once again achieved a record profit and turnover.

Belgian supermarket group Colruyt is continuing its focus on vertical integration: the retailer has acquired all the shares of industrial bakery Roelandt Group, which it will house in a newly created bread division within the group.

Samsung Electronics has earned record profits in 2021: the world's biggest mobile phone producer saw its profits increase by 58 % to 57 billion euros in the fourth quarter. The crisis in global logistics did not stop the South Korean company from making record profits.

By 2030, Nestlé wants to invest 1.25 billion euros in projects to tackle the risks of child labour and increase the income of cocoa farmers.

In Germany, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, the parent company of the Belgian Inno stores, is receiving nearly a quarter of a billion euros in additional financial aid to absorb the consequences of the coronavirus crisis.

Today, German retailer Metro set out its vision for the future. By focusing more than ever on wholesale and e-commerce, there is potential for a lot of growth after a few lean years. Technology gets a lot of attention, R&D explicitly not.

"Logistics has become marketing," concludes Heleen Buldeo Rai, a researcher in urban logistics at the Université Gustave Eiffel. Delivery should be free and preferably the same day because that is what consumers expect. But is that truly the case?

Kontoor Brands, the owner of jeans brands Wrangler and Lee, wants to move its European headquarters from Belgium to Switzerland this summer. This move could cost more than a hundred Belgian jobs.

Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo continues its Belgian expansion through the acquisition of four Alvo stores currently owned by Christophe De Laet. The four are added to the six Alvo stores that Jumbo had acquired earlier.

Sports retail chain Decathlon has appointed Barbara Martin Coppola as CEO. The new CEO has been in charge of the digital transformation at Ikea over the past years.

The American investment fund KKR has offered 1.6 billion euros for Accell Group, the Dutch bicycle manufacturer which owns well-known brands such as Batavus, Koga, Raleigh and Sparta.

PepsiCo's ambition is to use only recycled or renewable plastic for all its film packaging in Europe by 2030.

In a press conference earlier today, German retailer Metro has shared its vision for the future. The group is aiming for growth via wholesale and e-commerce, but denies any rumours about a certain exit from Belgium and India.

Unilever will cut at least 1500 jobs worldwide whilst simplifying its structure. The measure should speed up decision-making within the company.

German rapid grocery delivery company Gorillas is nearing a takeover deal with its French peer Frichti. If the deal is successful, it will create the second-largest rapid grocery delivery company in France. Both companies are also operating in Belgium.

German media are already certain that Metro is withdrawing from Belgium and India. CEO Steffen Greubel will announce the official plans on Wednesday.

Smartmat, the company behind the Foodbag meal boxes, is launching an online supermarket called Rayon. The supermarket offers the lowest delivery charge on the market, but the product range is not like any other typical supermarket.