Electronics
As consumers become increasingly sensitive to waste, the French electrical chain Darty has started a repair service for large household appliances. During the entire period in which spare parts are available, the device will be repaired 'free of charge'.
» Read more
French Fnac Darty has significantly increased its turnover in the third quarter, as online sales and turnover in the Benelux grew sharply.
Ceconomy, the owner of the Media Markt and Saturn chains, is to show its CEO Jörn Werner the door - despite the fact that he had only started his job in March and was fully engaged with the restructuring.
Amazon is currently in talks to make the technology behind its cashierless Go stores available to other parties, such as retailers in airports and cinemas.
Has the long-running conflict between MediaMarktSaturn and the Kellerhals family finally been resolved? The co-founder may be tempted to exchange his remaining MediaMarkt shares for an interest in parent group Ceconomy.
After more than two years of renovations, Apple Fifth Avenue, Apple's underground flagship store in New York, has opened its doors once more.
Dutch e-tailer Coolblue is opening its first Belgian Coolblue XXL store in Ghent, replacing the smaller store in nearby Lochristi later this year. There already are three stores of the same format in the Netherlands.
German chains MediaMarkt and Saturn have seen their losses grow by 50 % and turnover stagnate, but owner Ceconomy believes the future is positive as transformation should bring rewards.
After Apple started selling its products directly on Amazon, a lot of external sellers were banned from the platform and prices have gone up. A US watchdog looks if this is legal.
At the end of this month, Amazon will terminate its Dash order buttons. Earlier this year, the American e-commerce giant had already stopped selling the buttons, but said then they would continue to work.
Amazon will not pay the "Amazon tax" or "Gafa tax" in France, the American e-tailer said in response to the recent ratification of that law. Instead, it will be increasing its selling rates by 3 % in that country, so that the suppliers will in effect pay the tax.
Chinese telecom manufacturer Huawei seems to remain largely unaffected by the sanctions of the United States: turnover increased drastically in the first six months of the year.
Google employees listen to, and analyse in detail, recordings made by its Home speakers and the Assistant app on smartphones. And all that without clear notification, let alone permission, a Belgian news show claims.
Samsung is suffering from the trade war between the United States and China: for the third quarter in a row, the smartphone producer predicts lower profits. Fortunately, the decrease is less dramatic than initially feared.
French electronics chain Boulanger has acquired its Belgian rival Krëfel, including Hifi International from Luxembourg. The new group aims for market leadership in all three of the countries.
Microsoft is going to open its first European store in London's commercial centre, "coincidentally" just a stone's throw away from the local Apple Store.
