Rallye, the owner of French retailers like Casino and Monoprix, is granted protection from creditors. The group is in serious financial difficulties and now has at least six months to settle its debts.

The Dutch catering wholesaler Sligro had imagined its conquest of Belgium in a completely different way. Every new store is a new struggle: "The competition has made it very difficult," says CEO Koen Slippens.

Researchers say that retailers should actually pay 33 euros more for a pair of jeans, to take into account hidden expenses such as damage to the climate and workers' rights.

American fashion chain Urban Outfitters is launching a rental service for women's fashion, named Nuuly. Other brands have been experimenting with similar services to respond to changing consumer behaviour.

Meat alternatives are an as yet underdeveloped but very promising category: according to a new study, this segment could make up for ten precent of the worldwide meat market within ten years, meaning a turnover of 125 billion euros - ten times what it is today.

Disappointing sales figures and the high costs of store closures have impacted the results of Marks & Spencer. To finance the recent deal with online player Ocado, the British retailer will now issue new shares.

The Belgian Tax Office claims 30.44 million euros of tax money from brewery group AB InBev. On Friday, two court cases will be brought before the Dutch-speaking court of first instance in Brussels, despite an existing tax deal.

This week, the offices of supermarket chains Casino and Intermarché (in France) and Carrefour and Louis Delhaize (in Belgium) were visited by inspectors from different competition authorities. They are investigating whether the retailers violated antitrust regulations with their purchase alliances.

According to British sources, most (if not all) of Jamie Oliver's restaurants are terminating their activities. This is a new big blow, after twelve restaurants were already closed in the last restructuring. 1,300 jobs are at risk.

Ikea has commissioned the design of a fully white and transparent version of its logo, in order to better meet the requirements of online communication and e-commerce. That does not mean the famous yellow and blue logo is dead and buried, however.

Seven European organisations for consumer rights demand that Nutri-Score, a better version of the traffic light food information system, be made mandatory. They have started an online petition, which needs to get a million signatures before it can be brought to the European Commission.

Coca-Cola, Colgate and Maggi remain the biggest consumer brands in the world. It is becoming increasingly difficult for FMCG brands to grow: the key is to focus on penetration and not to forget older consumers.

Supermarket group Spar International continues to expand: for the third year in a row, turnover has grown by more than 5 % as Dutch and Austrian sales soar.

German Ceconomy, the holding that includes MediaMarkt and Saturn, has had a tough quarter due to negative currency and calendar effects. Still, the company reaffirms its prospects for the rest of the year.

Belgian retailers mourn the death of Jacques Dopchie, who rebuilt the old Grand Bazar (pictured) into the modernised retail empire GB Inno BM. Dopchie and his wife died together, at the age of 90.

Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn is experimenting with dynamic discounts for fresh products. The discount is not only dependent on the best-before date, but also on other factors such as the weather, and is determined by artificial intelligence.

The Belgian Competition Authority is investigating whether some supermarket chains have violated competition rules. Yesterday, a search and seizure took place at the headquarters of Carrefour and Provera (louis delhaize). For clarity's sake: Ahold Delhaize is not involved in the matter.

Inditex' CEO Pablo Isla has stated that the choice to enter e-commerce only quite late was a good one, because this way the company avoided teething problems and was able to immediately make a good start online.

Galeria Kaufhof Karstadt CEO Stephan Fanderl has announced that measures will be taken to turn the tide at the Dutch branch of the Hudson's Bay chain.

German fashion web shop Zalando wants to stimulate the direct delivery of goods through partnered fashion stores, after it turned out the German e-tailer lost a billion euros worth in turnover last year due to supply shortages in its own warehouses.

French luxury concern Kering has published a series of guidelines to guarantee the humane treatment of animals in its supply chains.

After an analysis of the general terms and conditions on the AliExpress website, a group of consumer organisations say that Alibaba fails to live up to the European consumer rights regulation.

Food producer Mondelēz International, known from such brands as Côte d’Or and Oreo, has expressed its ambition to solely use sustainable cocoa for all its brands by 2025. 

Amazon is going to invest hundreds of millions in meal delivery service Deliveroo, as the latter looks for half a billion euros in fresh capital to deal with Uber.

Investment company 3i, which owns Action, does not want to give up its interest in the non-food discounter. On the contrary, 3i even wants to expand its interest, but without paying for it itself.

In its last financial year, Alibaba saw its turnover and profit reach double-digit growth again. Pushed by new algorithms, conversion rates in China soared - making it the only branch of the company that is already profitable.

Foodmaker has opened its first French restaurant in Paris, only its second abroad. The Belgian restaurant chain wants to double its turnover this year, thanks to foreign expansion.

Peas & Love, a Belgian initiative that plants urban farms on rooftops, has managed to increase its capital by 1.5 million euros. Worldwide demand for urban farms is booming, and the company wants to cash in.

In the first quarter of its financial year 2019, Walmart managed to generate a profit that was a lot higher than expected. Not all is good, however: turnover went up only 1 %, despite a strong growth of online sales.

After making its exit from Italy, hypermarket group Auchan is now also leaving Vietnam. The French retailer is selling its eighteen outlets as part of a large-scale restructuring effort to compensate for a billion euro loss.

Sustainable grocery initiative Loop has been launched in Paris. The initiative allows A-list brand manufacturers and Carrefour to deliver their products at home in re-usable packaging. Unfortunately, waste-free shopping is still quite expensive.