Ikea is building a new, green city store in Vienna: there will be no parking, but the seven-storey building will have green balustrades and roofs with no less than 160 trees.

The production and distribution of fashion causes major environmental and social problems and current efforts are not sufficient to make the sector truly sustainable. If fashion companies and retailers do not act quickly, their profitability will be compromised, according to a Barclays analyst report. Primark, Inditex, H&M and Zalando, among others, may feel addressed.

JD.com has its eye on the port of Zeebrugge as a springboard to Europe. The Chinese e-commerce player, which mainly focuses on logistics, visited the port together with Flemish prime minister Jan Jambon.

German hypermarket chain Kaufland, which, like Lidl, is part of the Schwarz Gruppe, is stowing away its plans to enter the Australian market. The retailer wants to concentrate on its European core markets.

Hard discounters lost market share in the Netherlands last year, which is remarkable. Market leader Albert Heijn remained stable, the big winner being Jumbo, partly thanks to acquisitions.

Fashion chains Saks Off 5th and Dress for Less are going to join forces. Both companies are part of the Austrian Signa Group.  

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?

The Paris Commercial Court ruled in interim measures that Coca-Cola must immediately resume deliveries to Intermarché. The beverage giant had stopped it after a conflict with the supermarket chain about the range.

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

The deal with Unilever at the end of 2018 has been lucrative for The Vegetarian Butcher. The founder, Jaap Korteweg, who is now a consultant, expects the company to annually double its turnover in the coming years.  

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.

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.

Beter Bed seems to be doing better again now that the company is rid of its German subsidiary Matratzen Concord. In the fourth quarter, organic sales from continuing operations increased by 4.7%. 

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.

Too Good to Go, a Danish app that fights food waste, can now call itself a "Certified B Corporation". The Danish company is also expanding to the United States, taking its first steps outside Europe.

British e-tailer Asos is experimenting with a new tool, See My Fit, which uses augmented reality to simulate pieces of clothing in different sizes fitted on different body types.

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.