General

Babylon Loveshop, an erotics chain from the French-speaking part of Belgium, has decided to expand to the Dutch-speaking part with the partial take-over of its bankrupt competitor Pabo.

German retail giant Metro has sold a ​​majority interest in its Chinese operations to local retailer Wumart. The sale fits in with the group’s strategy to focus more on professional customers.

Last week, Ahold Delhaize officially opened its AI for Retail Lab (AIR Lab) in Delft. It’s not the only initiative in the field of artificial intelligence. Through 'Kickstart AI', the company, together with 4 other large Dutch companies (ING, KLM, NS and Philips), wants to give AI a boost in the Netherlands.

Ecover and AB InBev have joined forces: the manufacturer of environmentally friendly detergents is using residual alcohol (a waste product left over from the production of alcohol-free beer) as a raw material for a new detergent.

Consulting firm McKinsey has opened an experimental store in the Mall of America, where retailers can test and analyse all kinds of technologies intended to transform the shopping experience.

From 2021, postal tariffs for letters and parcels from abroad will increase, as each country will then be able to set its own prices for distribution. This will have serious consequences for orders placed with cheap Chinese web shops.

You know how consultants or retail experts always talk about "listening to the customer" and "the customer is king"? Well, it may be a truism that if it looks, swims and quacks like a duck, it is a duck... But who really needs to hear all that quacking? And who could possibly understand what it means?