Global Opportunities

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Global Retail Intelligence – December

December 14 – Auchan Declares No Discussions about Tie-Up with Carrefour Previously reported discussions between France’s Auchan and Carrefour to tie-up the two retailers are now reported to be over, with Auchan declaring that there is no contact between the two families that control Auchan (AUCH.UL) and Carrefour (CARR.PA). From Reuters December 14 – UK’s Marks &…

Global Retail Intelligence – November

November 17 – Moderna Rolls Out Maxi Store Format With 170 stores, located in the Campania, Basilicata, Calabria and Puglia regions of Italy, Italy’s Moderna 2020 Rolls Out Maxi Store Format in Pompei. Moderna 2020 is a leading company in the organized retail distribution sector in Southern Italy and a partner in retail consortium Gruppo VéGé. From European Supermarket…

Supply Chain Spend in 2022 – Setting the Stage

By Thomas A. Cook, Managing Director, Blue Tiger International The Covid-19 pandemic brought significant increases in logistics costs and supply chain spend, along with limitations on service both domestically and internationally. Initial predictions pegged the disruption to continue into the second quarter of 2021 with a residual impact lasting until December 2021. …

Global Retail Intelligence – October

October 26 – Ikea Acquires Real Estate in London With plans to open a large store on London’s Oxford Street in fall of 2023, Ikea acquired a building previously occupied by Topshop. The 22,000 square meter building was bought for GBP 378 million. From Retail Detail October 26 – Amazon India Announces New Store and Pays Cashback Ahead of the holiday season of Dhanteras,…

Mark Chapman Discusses Current Status of UK Market

In early August, International Business Council (IBC) members met for the first of several planned IBC Member Meet-Ups. This networking and educational opportunity brought together interested members on Zoom to learn from guest speaker, Mark Chapman of IHA’s UK Office. Chapman spoke about the current situation in the UK with focus on the effects of the pandemic and Brexit.…

Global Retail Intelligence – August

August 18 – Carrefour Belgium Introduces Eco-ScoreInitially launched in Belgium by Colruyt, followed by Lidl, Eco-Score is an ecological evaluation of products. Carrefour will launch this system by applying the score to rate a product’s sustainability to 1500 products online and plans to roll the program out to additional products and eventually to products sold instore.…

Global Retail Intelligence – July

July 15 – Spain’s Eroski Caprabo to Increase AssortmentSpain’s Caprabo, under the Eroski, the umbrella has announced that is offering its new, enhanced range of products to more stores across its network. The expanded its range to approximately 12,500 products. From European Supermarket Magazine July 15 – Portugal’s Pingo Doce Allows Customers to Bring Their Own ContainersIn…

Global Retail Intelligence – June

June 23 – Retail Sales Drop in CanadaAmid third COVID-19 wave, retail sales in Canada fell 5.7% to $54.8 billion in April, the largest decline since April 2020 during the pandemic’s first wave. General merchandise sales dropped 8.1%. From Global News June 22 – France’s Luxury Department Store, La Samaritaine ReopensAfter closing for renovation for 16 years, Paris’…

Global Retail Intelligence – May

May 26 - Lisbon-based Startup Announced First Autonomous StoreLisbon-based startup Sensei has announced its first autonomous store opening to the public, in partnership with Portuguese retailer Sonae. Continente, the largest food retailer in Portugal is part of Sonae Group. From Retail Technology Innovation Hub May 26 – Marks & Spencer Reports Revenue…