Ceconomy, MediaMarkt's parent company, has sold its onerous Russian division to local electronics chain M.video. The German electronics giant does not quit Russia altogether however, as it continues as shareholder of M.video.
BackMarket, a French start-up that wants to be a marketplace for refurbished smart phones, tablets and laptops, has secured a 41 million euro investment. The most famous new investor is Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury group LVMH.
Dutch e-commerce group Coolblue has terminated hundreds of its web shops, instead preferring one central web shop at coolblue.be/nl. This may be the precursor to an international expansion, the company says.
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi just opened a physical store in Paris, part of its ambitious European expansion plan. The brand is also dreaming of an American launch.
French electronics retailer Fnac Darty has set up a purchase alliance with competitor MediaMarkt Saturn. Both companies will buy together when it comes to the European retail market.
The battle for dominance on the Indian e-commerce market seems to be stepping up a notch: Amazon may be looking to buy a majority stake in Flipkart, trying to better Walmart which already started negociations with the Indian online retailer.
Amazon is secretly working on robots for consumers. According to press agency Bloomberg, the tech giant wants to trial the robots at their employees’ homes and wants to present its domestic robots in 2019.
Electronics group Fnac Darty has achieved a small turnover growth in the first quarter of 2018. The group also says it took major steps in its recovery plan: before the end of 2018, it seeks 130 million euro in synergies.
It seems a lost fight to compete with web shops, but not every retailer is simply throwing in the towel. A German household appliance seller has found an original way to entice customers.
Saturn has opened Europe’s first checkout-free electronics store in Austria. The former Metro Group chain offers its customers traditional sales assistance, but payments have to happen using an app.
Ceconomy will create uniformity between Media Markt and Saturn’s online and offline pricing. This will be possible thanks to the digital price tags it now uses in the stores, because there can be altered in real-time.
2017 may have been a record year for smartphone sellers, but the market is weakening: for the first time since 2004, there were fewer smartphone sales in the fourth quarter.
French entertainment and electronics retailer Fnac Darty (owner of Belgian chain Vanden Borre and Dutch BCC) has experienced a “solid 2017”, with a nearly 40 % turnover increase.
Ceconomy, Media Markt and Saturn’s parent company, revealed a small turnover growth for its first quarter, thanks to improved online sales. Expectedly, its profit did drop.
There has been yet another thorough shake-up among Fnac Darty’s shareholders. The merger company, which owns Belgian electronics chain Vanden Borre and Dutch retailer BCC, will now welcome insurance company SFAM, after it bought investment fund Knight Vinke’s shares.
Apple broke its turnover and profit records in the first quarter of its fiscal year, which ended on 30 December 2017. Nevertheless, there are unfavourable signals, because iPhone sales were below expectations.
An Edinburgh-based store of British chain Margiottahalted its Pepper robot experiment after merely a week, because its customers apparently found it too confusing.
