Food giant Nestlé has had a strong quarter, pushing sales 3.7 % higher in the first nine months of the year on an organic basis. The group will reward its shareholders by means of a substantial share buyback programme.

Unilever delivered solid results in its third quarter, although the FMCG manufacturer fell slightly below analysts' expectations. Emerging markets remain the growth driver par excellence, despite the fact that the Sino-American trade war caused a slowdown in Asia.

Dutch wholesaler Sligro has released disappointing Q3 results: an organic turnover decrease of 2.5 % may lead to a significant full-year profit drop.

Clothing by Primark, the Irish chain that stubbornly refuses to start with e-commerce, is now for sale at Amazon. Does that mean the fashion discounter finally has come round to the idea? Or is there something not quite right?

Ceconomy, the owner of the Media Markt and Saturn chains, is to show its CEO Jörn Werner the door - despite the fact that he had only started his job in March and was fully engaged with the restructuring.

Swedish furniture giant Ikea is looking to acquire shopping centres in the United Kingdom as part of an expansion plan. This way, the retail chain wants to benefit from lower retail property prices.

In order to combat rising vacancy rates, owners of commercial real estate are heavily pressured into offering significant discounts - often as high as 15 %, but sometimes even up to 50 %.

Makro's Belgian cash & carry stores have been able to 'almost' stabilise their turnover in the past financial year, after figures had been falling by 10 % and more for many years. However, a break-even is not yet in sight for the Metro subsidiary.

British investment company Permira wants to sell its footwear brand Dr. Martens. The label has had an excellent year and the holding company now wants to cash in on that.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), 363 billion euros of food is wasted every year before even reaching the shelves. Poor storage infrastructure is the biggest culprit.

After a few months of testing in Spain, discounter Lidl is going to roll out its own payment service, Lidl Pay, to at least two other countries.

German retail giant Metro has sold a ​​majority interest in its Chinese operations to local retailer Wumart. The sale fits in with the group’s strategy to focus more on professional customers.

Dutch bed retailer Beter Bed has succeeded in offloading its German subsidiary, Matratzen Concord, to investor Magical Honour. The latter is paying five million euros for the controversial mattress retailer and will invest just as much in Beter Bed Holding itself.

Over the past ten years, the number of shops in Flanders and Brussels has decreased by 15 %. Strangely, the vacancy rate increased, but so too did the amount of retail space that was actually used. E-commerce is often presented as the culprit, but the story is actually much more complex than that.

Danish brewery group Carlsberg has presented two types of paper bottles, which were developed by the Paper Bottle Company (Paboco). That joint venture's objective is to develop a fully recyclable paper bottle.

Continental Foods, the food group including such brands as Aïki, Devos Lemmens and Liebig, has signed the ‘Better Chicken Commitment’ (BCC). This means, among other things, that by 2026 the company will Continental Foods will only use higher welfare chicken in its products in five European countries.

Following a new investment, H&M Group has acquired a majority stake in re-commerce platform Sellpy. The investment should support the platform's expansion abroad, as well as fitting in with H&M's objective of becoming more sustainable.

FNG, the parent company of Miss Etam and Claudia Sträter, among others, is restructuring its Dutch head office organisation, resulting in the loss of 50 jobs. At the same time, the company has announced the appointment of Richard Turk as the Managing Director for FNG Netherlands.

The Belgian branch of Thomas Cook Retail, which filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago, is partly starting over again under the umbrella of the Spanish travel agency, Wamos. As a result of the takeover, 195 employees were able to return to work.

Online supermarket Picnic is going to equip some of its electric vans with solar panels. The trial is a new step in the online supermarket’s policy of making deliveries in the most sustainable way possible.

The French luxury products group LVMH, which owns such iconic brands as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Dom Pérignon, has once again amazed the market with its astounding quarterly results.

Last week, Ahold Delhaize officially opened its AI for Retail Lab (AIR Lab) in Delft. It’s not the only initiative in the field of artificial intelligence. Through 'Kickstart AI', the company, together with 4 other large Dutch companies (ING, KLM, NS and Philips), wants to give AI a boost in the Netherlands.

Just dock at the supermarket during your boat trip? A Dutch Spar was the world’s first to do it, but from March, it is also possible at Delhaize in Hasselt. The new establishment on the Kanaalkom, in the brand-new Quartier Bleu district, will be located on a stretch of quay where sailors can moor.

The German retail group Rewe is being given the green light for the acquisition of Lekkerland, which in Belgium also includes wholesaler Conway. This will create a new European superpower in the convenience sector.

Lots of consumers use marketplaces like bol.com and Amazon not just to buy products, but also as a source of information:  they look for details about products, which they then buy from a physical store.

Meal delivery company Takeaway.com reports that the number of orders has increased by no less than 87 % in the third quarter. Moreover, the company is now profitable for the first time.

Inter Ikea (owner of the Ikea brand and manager of the franchise activities) may still have to pay millions of euros in taxes the company is said to have avoided, if two deals with the Dutch tax authorities are revoked.

Ecover and AB InBev have joined forces: the manufacturer of environmentally friendly detergents is using residual alcohol (a waste product left over from the production of alcohol-free beer) as a raw material for a new detergent.

Dutch fashion brand Scotch & Soda has suffered a net loss of 12.9 million euros in its latest financial year. The new CEO, Frederick Lukoff, wants to grow the brand abroad by highlighting values such as freedom and tolerance.

Dutch textile discounter Zeeman is going to close several dozens of stores in the Netherlands over the coming years. Growth will therefore have to come from e-commerce and new stores abroad, especially in Southern Europe.

Belgian online pharmacy Viata has raised 3.8 million euros to finance its international growth. The money comes from Antwerp-based family business Alcopa and a new loan.