General
As a result of the divestment of its margarine division, Unilever saw its quarterly turnover fall 1.6 % to 12.4 billion euros, which is a better result than analysts had expected. CEO Alan Jope saw enough good reasons to call this a ”solid start” to 2019.
» Read more
French luxury icon families Arnault (LVMH) and Pinault (Kering) are springing to the aid of Notre-Dame in Paris, which has been damaged by fire. Together they have already donated 300 million euros for the reconstruction of the iconic cathedral.
Employees have again gone on strike at four of Amazon’s German distribution centres. The German trade union Ver.di has been demanding higher wages and better labour conditions for years.
Supermarket chain Walmart wants to start using more robots for a number of repetitive tasks such as cleaning and checking shelves, allowing the staff to spend more time on sales and helping customers.
For the first time in years, Apple is no longer number one in the list of the most innovative companies in the world as compiled by Boston Consulting Group. The new champion is Google, followed by Amazon. Both companies are heavily invested in artificial intelligence.
Hema had a bumpy ride last year: comparable turnover dropped and losses increased due to the change in ownership. The department store chain is therefore making some bold choices: it's selling its bakeries and developing wholesale activities for the first time.
Department store chain Debenhams is carrying a massive debt load, but still the chain has rejected Mike Ashley's ultimate plan to save it. That means the company is now under the control of the creditors.
Large, traditional companies can also reinvent themselves successfully. Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, shows how it should be done. Peter Hinssen is impressed, but warns: Europe must do more than step up.
Last Friday in New York, Showfields was opened. The retail building combines digital companies, art exhibits and a community room all under one roof.
A car dealer in the middle of the city? In a Parisian shopping centre, even? This unusual idea comes from Nissan, which has opened the first Nissan City Hub in the Vélizy 2 shopping centre in Paris. The hub is centred on e-commerce and electric cars.
Disposable plastic items such as straws, cutlery, plates or cotton swabs will be banned in the EU a little more than two years from now. EuroCommerce responds by pointing out that everyone involved will have to contribute to make that goal succeed.
Online customers who are drunk spend 440 dollars every year on purchases they don't remember the day after. In the US alone, the industry makes an annual 48 billion dollars from that, most of it for Amazon.
Second-hand chain Troc.com has been acquired by Happy Cash, a similar chain from France. The takeover should put Happy Cash in a stronger position internationally and digitally.
The extension of the Brexit deadline is - finally - some good news for European retailers, branch organisation EuroCommerce says. However, it also has a major drawback.
Colruyt will start using electronic price tags in all of its stores. Not only are they more environmentally friendly, but they also help save on expenses.
Dutch non-food discounter Action has achieved a 23 % sales growth last year, ending the year at 4.21 billion euros in sales. However, that was mostly done through opening new stores: comparable growth was 'only' 3.2 %.
