Last week, Colruyt Group went through the worst week ever on the stock exchange, but the Belgian retailer now rises to the occasion and buys back its own shares for half a million euros.

A recent study found that contents and quality of food products can be different throughout the European Union. The EU now demands the practice be stopped.

Superama, a subsidiary of Walmart Mexico, has started to deliver groceries through instant messaging service WhatsApp.

French Maisons du Monde has announced some ambitious plans: by 2024, the furniture and decoration chain intends to double its turnover, reaching two billion euros.

'Experience shopping mall' Uplace in Machelen, just north of Brussels, has been controversial for years. A new name and a complete redesign aim to get the project afloat again, but the classic mall is gone. Instead, the new plans aim for SMEs and more green.

German discounter Aldi has its eyes set on London after a successful test with a proximity store in Balham. Just ten days ago, arch rival Lidl also announced a plan to conquer London.

Barely a month after Carrefour's announcement that it did not consinder selling its Chinese branch, it sells 80 % to local retailer Suning.com.

Kellogg's and Seven Bro7hers Brewery are collaborating to make three different kinds of beer from three different kinds of cereal: Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes and Coco Pops.

German shoe giant Adidas has suffered a painful defeat against its much smaller Belgian competitor Patrick (owned by the Shoe Branding company), as the EU General Court decided three stripes in any direction are famous not enough to constitute a protected trademark.

Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo has confirmed it will open its first three Belgian stores before the end of the year. The three locations are Lanaken, Pelt and Rijkevorsel, unsurprisingly all near Belgium's northeastern border with the Netherlands.

In a Belgian hypermarket that was forced to decrease in size, French retail chain Carrefour has opened its first Carrefour Café. That concept merges a convenience store with features of a restaurant, and will also be introduced in other locations.

In most European countries the costs of shoplifting are stagnating, but in Belgium they are on the rise again. Especially supermarkets are a target. Belgian retailers lost 900 million in thefts, their Dutch colleagues saw double that amount disappear.

Discounter Aldi has almost doubled its Fairtrade turnover to become the largest retailer in the Fairtrade market in Belgium, with a market share of 16 % - compared to just 10 % the year before. Bananas and roses are the fastest growing products.

Thanks to the use of sustainable resources and production methods, C&A has managed to further reduce its ecological footprint. The retailer aims to increase its organic and recycled cotton use and to produce Cradle to Cradle-certified clothing.

A study by American management consulting firm A.T. Kearney says the world's total 'meat' consumption will evolve to mainly consist of cultured meat and meat alternatives in the next twenty years. Traditional meat will fall to a market share of just 40 %.

Graham Harris has been confirmed as CEO at Dutch online department store Wehkamp. Harris had been CEO 'ad interim' after the departure of Piet Coelewij in April.

Irish clothing discounter Primark has doubled the size of its best performing store worldwide, at the Rue Neuve in Brussels.

Organic food is hot: Brussels-based organic food market The Barn is expanding beyond the city borders for the first time, to open a market in Antwerp. On top of that, there will also be a third Brussels Barn before the end of the year.

Dutch bol.com has emphasised its expansion plans for Belgium by opening a new head office in Antwerp, where current and future partners can meet. By 2021, Dutch and Belgian partners will account for more than half of all sales on the platform that is part of retail giant Ahold Delhaize.

Belgian Colruyt Group has largely managed to meet expectations for its financial year 2018/19, but operational margins are under pressure from rising costs. The leader in the Belgian supermarket branch has managed to expand its market share, despite tough competition.

A small consolation after the tragic loss of its figurehead Karl Lagerfeld, but Chanel has performed exceptionally well last year. The company's turnover is approaching the milestone of ten billion euros, 12.5 % more than the year before.

Westvleteren, a Belgian Trappist beer of which the 12 variety is often considered as the best in the world, is notoriously hard to come by as you had to phone in advance and then collect a maximum of two crates. However, the monks will now start selling it online.

Swedish fashion giant H&M has seen growth for the fifth consecutive quarter, as turnover rose by 11 %. Still, there is much work left to be done, as the chain readily admits.

Carrefour has opened its own version of Amazon Go in its head office in Massy (near Paris), where the chain is trying out facial recognition and registerless shopping.

Amazon is to close its meal delivery service Amazon Restaurants this month. Heavy competition from Uber Eats and DoorDash had made the service unsaveable, but Amazon has already found a replacement.

The Belgian e-commerce sector keeps on growing: during the first three months of 2019, online turnover went up 8 % as the number of online purchases even rose 18 %. Beauty products are the fastest growing sector in the online trade of physical products.

Toy manufacturer Mattel has rejected a takeover bid from American competitor MGA Entertainment for the second time, even though Barbie has certainly seen better days.

The blurring trend continues: French supermarket giant chain Carrefour has opened its first restaurant in Paris. Officially, 'Bon Appétit!' is only a test, but if this establishment becomes a success, more will inevitably follow.

The German ministry for the environment wants to bring an end to the destruction of unsold and returned products. Currently, four procent of all returned goods end up as rubbish.

German discounter Lidl wants to open more than forty new stores in London alone in the next five years, an ambition that comes with a price tag of half a billion pounds (560 million euros).

CEO Alan Jope thinks Unilever should widen its brand portfolio, as society diversifies and it becomes increasingly difficult to be relevant to a large number of people.