General
In the third quarter, Alibaba again exceeded expectations, supported by growing e-commerce and the termination of the lockdown in China.
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For the first time in 94 years, iconic department store chain Marks & Spencer reports a loss: profits in the past six months have been below zero. Yet there are also signs of recovery.
Fashion
It was an exceptional third quarter for Zalando: the online clothing retailer saw sales rise with 29.9%. The platform aims to digitise more physical merchants. Also in Belgium, where fashion chain LolaLiza joins as a new partner.
Furniture
Inter Ikea, master franchiser of the Ikea stores, saw its profit grow by 13% last year, exceeding 2 billion euro. Consumers spend more on furniture in times of corona, and margins increased.
Food
Supermarket group Ahold Delhaize experienced strong growth again last quarter thanks to the corona crisis. Online sales are thriving: the retailer is announcing investments to significantly increase its e-commerce capacity.
A crisis always has winners and losers and it is clear that HelloFresh is in the winning camp. Helped by the corona pandemic, the mealbox supplier continues its dizzying growth trajectory undisturbed.
The corona crisis is also hitting department store chain Hema, which has therefore already written off some 100 million euro. The impact of the pandemic will continue to be felt in the years to come, expects the retailer, who nevertheless managed to halve its loss.
Primark saw its turnover and profits fall sharply in the last financial year. The corona crisis, and more specifically the first lockdown in the spring, weighed heavily on the results of the fashion retailer who does not have a web shop.
Amazon sold 37% more this summer, while profits even tripled. The corona effect continues, even more than analysts had expected. Christmas will be "unprecedented", according to Jeff Bezos.
French retail group Casino saw its comparable revenue increase in the third quarter, but continued to struggle in its home market. Analysts doubt whether the retailer will be able to benefit from the new French lockdown.
Auction site eBay was able to significantly increase its turnover and profit in the third quarter. The company took full advantage of the corona crisis and is raising its annual expectations.
Despite the corona crisis, AB InBev again sold more beer in the third quarter. The world's largest brewer rapidly adapted its supply chain and saw a particularly strong increase in online sales.
Beer brewer Heineken saw its sales drop sharply as a result of the corona crisis. Although the third quarter showed improvement, the outlook remains uncertain, which is why the company is making redundancies.
With comparable sales growth of 8.4% in the third quarter, Carrefour reported the best performance in more than 20 years. Online sales even grew by 65%. In Belgium, the retailer is once again gaining market share.
Coca-Cola wants to halve its brand portfolio. Some two hundred brands will go out, as sales continue to fall in all regions due to the corona pandemic. Nevertheless, it was a better-than-expected third quarter.
Despite the corona crisis, Unilever has had a more than solid quarter. In particular, the company sold more products through supermarkets, compensating for the decline in sales in the out-of-home segment.
