Primark has opened its first-ever store in the Czech Republic, solidifying its Central European ambitions. The Irish budget fashion chain enters its fourteenth market and now has 396 outlets.

Dr. Martens, best known for its sturdy boots with eye-catching stitching, saw its turnover grow substantially again last year, despite continuing store closures due to the coronavirus.

The Belgian 'social shopping' fashion platform Avail is no more. The ambitious project saw the light of day in 2019 with support from Schoenen Torfs and 9.5 Ventures. However, that light was turned out by the Covid crisis.

With a new range of plant-based oat drinks, pioneer Alpro wants to convince true milk lovers. The name 'Not MLK' speaks for itself...

The fallen Belgian fashion empire FNG has been given a (small) second life, with e-commerce company Ellos as the only remaining activity. The shareholders have agreed to the relaunch plan, in which the founding trio has been completely sidelined.

LVMH, the luxury holding company above Louis Vuitton, has announced a partnership with Google Cloud. With Google's help, the luxury giant wants to focus on artificial intelligence and personalisation. 

Carrefour is said to be in talks with its Moroccan franchise partner Label'Vie regarding managing some of its so-called ethnic stores: these are supermarkets in neighbourhoods and suburbs with a large Muslim community, in which the French retailer is struggling to make a profit.

Ikea has been fined one million euros in France for setting up an espionage system to collect private information on its own staff.

Spadel, the owner of several brands, including Spa and Bru, is starting a new investment fund and is immediately taking a minority stake in Contaynor, a Belgian start-up focusing on the home delivery of beverages in an environmentally friendly manner.

French retail group Carrefour has launched a new, integrated shopper data, personalisation and media platform aimed at improving customer relations and enabling suppliers to align their offers with customer expectations. 

During the height of the Covid crisis, hard discounters Aldi and Lidl have continued to grow faster than the market in most European countries. However, they are losing ground on their home market. In the Benelux, the picture is equally mixed.

H&M has recovered well from the coronavirus pandemic. In the first half of June, sales were even 2 % higher than in the same period in 2019.

Increased consumer awareness regarding healthier living is bearing fruit for Greenyard. The Belgian fruit and vegetable giant performed beyond expectations during the Covid year and raised its profit forecast for the year ahead.

Chinese e-commerce platform Shein, particularly popular with younger generations, is facing complaints from clothing brands claiming the fashion company has infringed on their intellectual property.

Greenyard and Cornerstone Investment Management have reached an agreement on the sale of Greenyard Prepared Netherlands, a mushroom processing company.

For the Belgian beer industry, the Covid year 2020 was a year to be forgotten quickly. Beer consumption at home collapsed by just under a fifth. And export, which in recent years compensated for the shrinking domestic volumes, also felt the impact of the coronavirus restrictions in the rest of the world. The result: it was the worst year for the Belgian beer industry since the Second World War.

Selfridges, owned by the very wealthy Weston family, is said to be on sale for a price equivalent to 4.66 billion euros. After a potential buyer approached the British department store group, several British media reported on the story. 

The British competition watchdog is about to launch an investigation into Amazon. Meanwhile, the European Union is threatening the e-commerce giant with a hefty fine.

Emmanuel Faber, who has been CEO of Danone until mid-March, is lashing out: he has been dismissed by activist shareholders, who he claims have compromised the board of directors. The board is in need of reform.

A year later than planned, the first Harry Potter store, located in the heart of New York, has opened its doors. The first pictures look - well - magical. 

Maison365, a company selling clothing boxes based on personal style advice in the Netherlands and Flanders, is growing fast. CEO Maarten Valk now wants to conquer the rest of Belgium as well as Germany.

Phenix, the direct competitor of the Danish Too Good to Go, is coming to Belgium. The French company is starting in Brussels but gradually wants to cover the rest of the country as well.

Mere, the Siberian discount chain that wants to conquer Western Europe, recently opened its first stores in Spain. RetailDetail founder Jorg Snoeck visited one of the stores and analyses the concept, which combines features of Aldi and Action. And the prices? Well...

Dutch department store chain De Bijenkorf has seen its sales drop dramatically last year due to compulsory store closures. Its online shops performed excellently, but could not fully compensate for the losses.

LVMH has announced a new partnership with Canopy, an NGO dedicated to forest conservation and the transformation of unsustainable forest product chains. The French luxury group is not only concerned about the environment, but will also set up an emergency fund for its employees.

Walmart is rolling out a new staff app to simplify certain daily tasks and to improve service. All 740,000 store employees will receive a new Samsung smartphone for free before the end of the year.

Inditex, the parent company of Zara and Bershka, among others, sold a billion euros less than pre-corona this spring. Yet there is a clear recovery, especially now that measures are easing.

Next year, an indoor Legoland Discovery Centre will open in shopping centre Docks Bruxsel. With this amusement park, the shopping centre hopes to attract a larger public.

Belgian Peter Somers, top executive of Emirates Post, has just been awarded the Industry Leadership Award at the World Post & Parcel Awards 2021. It is a recognition of his efforts in advancing the postal and parcel industry.

A new study confirms Colruyt as the cheapest supermarket chain in Belgium. Albert Heijn is a close second, the others are miles behind.