Belgian Retailers Are Calling for a Ban on Tobacco Sales
Belgian trade federation Comeos and small‑business group Unizo are urging the government to impose a blanket ban on tobacco sales to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, mirroring the United Kingdom’s recent age‑based prohibition. The push follows a Constitutional Court ruling that Belgium’s current rule—restricting sales only in supermarkets of 400 m² or larger—is discriminatory, forcing new legislation by year‑end. Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke backs a total ban for all food retailers, while Unizo wants smaller stores to retain a choice and proposes a phased‑out schedule extending to 2028. The proposal aims to eradicate tobacco and vaping products from the market over time.
“Faster, Smarter, and More Sustainable”: Leuven Collects ‘Instant’ Food Surpluses
The European GREEN‑LOG pilot in Leuven used cargo bikes and a real‑time digital platform to collect food surpluses from ten retailers and deliver them to eleven social organisations between November 2025 and March 2026. Couriers completed 66 pickups, moving 354 bins and...
Why Magnum Sells More Ice Cream but Loses Revenue
Magnum, the ice‑cream company behind brands such as Ben & Jerry’s and Cornetto, reported an encouraging start to 2026 with solid organic growth. However, its first‑quarter revenue slipped 1.2% year‑over‑year to €1.77 billion (about $1.93 billion). The decline comes despite higher sales...
Casino Draws Encouragement From Like-for-Like Revenue Growth
French retailer Casino reported a 2.7% drop in total revenue to €1.95 billion ($2.15 billion) in Q1, driven by the closure of 131 stores. On a like‑for‑like basis the group still managed a modest 0.3% increase, while adjusted EBITDA rose 10.4% to...
Dreame Reinforces Its European Ambitions with Its First Store in the Benelux
Dreame Technology, the Chinese smart‑home appliance maker, is opening its first brick‑and‑mortar store in the Benelux region next week. The showroom will launch on May 9 in Westfield Mall, The Hague, offering customers hands‑on product trials, live demonstrations, and personalized advice....
Pinko Continues Its Recovery with Strong Profit Growth
Pinko, the Italian luxury fashion group, posted a strong first‑quarter profit surge, reporting EBITDA of €6.7 million ($7.3 million), up 23.4% from the prior year. The brand only returned to positive operating profit in 2025 after a €30.8 million loss in 2024, marking...
Czech CEO Leaves Ahold Delhaize
Petr Pavlik, brand president of Albert supermarkets in the Czech Republic, announced his departure from Ahold Delhaize to pursue opportunities outside the company. Pavlik, who rejoined the group in 2025 after stints at online retailer Rohlik, media firm Cruxo, and earlier...
Strong Start for Coca-Cola
Coca‑Cola delivered a robust start to 2024, posting first‑quarter net revenue of $12.5 billion, a 12% year‑over‑year increase, and profit of $3.9 billion, up 18%. The earnings beat expectations largely thanks to a surge in Coca‑Cola Zero sales. On a comparable‑company basis,...
La Lorraine Bakery Group Thrives Despite “Transitional Year”
La Lorraine Bakery Group posted €1.57 billion in revenue last year—about $1.71 billion—marking 7.5% growth driven primarily by its bakery division. The expansion stemmed from organic sales and the integration of recent joint ventures, including Bakery de France in the United States...
“Renegotiating with Supermarkets Will Become Inevitable” Warns the Belgian Food Industry
Belgian food manufacturers reported a 2.5% revenue increase to roughly $93 bn last year, driven by higher volumes despite falling prices. However, domestic demand is flat and cross‑border shopping, now worth about $772 m, is shifting toward Germany and Luxembourg as shoppers...
How Reusable Mushroom Trays Are Set to Revolutionize Belgian Waste Management
Belgian supermarket giants are piloting a uniform deposit system for reusable mushroom trays in Mechelen. The polypropylene containers carry a €0.30 (≈ $0.33) deposit, tracked via QR codes, and can be returned at any participating store. The six‑month test aligns with...
Claire’s Closes Its Stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Claire’s, the global accessories and jewelry retailer, announced the closure of 154 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland, cutting approximately 1,300 jobs. The move follows a series of European failures, including bankruptcies in Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands, and...
Nestlé Holds Steady Despite Exchange Rate Pressure and Product Recalls
Nestlé reported first‑quarter revenue of 21.3 billion Swiss francs, roughly $23.4 billion, a 5.7% decline driven largely by a 9.3% hit from adverse currency movements and the lingering fallout of a global baby‑formula recall. Despite the headwinds, the company posted solid organic...
Vinted Is Already Worth 8 Billion Euros
Vinted secured an €880 million ($960 million) funding round, lifting its valuation to €8 billion (about $8.7 billion). The Lithuanian‑based second‑hand marketplace reported a 38% revenue jump to €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) in 2025 and a GMV of €10.8 billion ($11.8 billion). Net profit reached €62 million ($68 million), and...
Intermarché Belgium Aims for Three Billion Euros in Revenue by 2030
Intermarché Belgium aims to lift revenue to €3 bn (≈$3.3 bn) by 2030, targeting a 20% market share. The goal follows a turbulent 2023‑24 period marked by IT and logistics issues after the Mestdagh acquisition, which reduced the store count to 151...
Mango to Open over Six More Home Stores in 2026
Mango is accelerating its Home concept, targeting more than ten stores in Spain by 2026. After launching four standalone Mango Home stores in 2025—two in Barcelona, one in Zaragoza and one in Madrid—the retailer will add at least six new...
New Plan Aims to Revitalize Brussels’ Shopping Districts
Brussels’ retail sector faces an 18% vacancy rate despite a high store density of 33.6 outlets per 1,000 residents, well above the regional norm. Persistent cleanliness and safety concerns, coupled with a surge in fast‑food venues, are eroding commercial diversity...
Children’s Clothing Chain Tape À L’œil Is Back in the Black
French children’s clothing retailer Tape à l’œil returned to profitability after a three‑year loss streak, thanks to a restructuring and new strategy. Revenue reached €200 million (≈$215 million) in 2025, a 5 % rise, even as the overall children’s fashion market fell 0.9 %....
Zalando to End Its Connected Retail Program
Zalando announced it will retire its Connected Retail program, which has enabled brick‑and‑mortar partners to list inventory on its marketplace since 2018. The service will be replaced by a new, integrated platform called zDirect that promises tighter data integration. The...
Rental Platform Dressr Is Now Launching a ‘Preloved’ Sales Section
Belgian fashion rental service Dressr has launched Dressr Preloved, a second‑hand marketplace for garments that have completed their rental cycles. The new platform lets consumers purchase previously rented items, extending the life of each piece beyond the rental model. Founder...
Fnac Darty Reports Strong Online Growth
Fnac Darty posted modest domestic growth but strong online momentum in Q1 2026. Revenue rose 0.9% on a comparable basis to €2.3 bn (about $2.5 bn) and gross margin improved by 10%. Physical store sales were flat, while online sales jumped 5.4%, now...
A Quarter of All Online Sales in Europe Come From Abroad
Cross‑border e‑commerce now accounts for a quarter of Europe’s online retail, generating €108 billion in 2025 – roughly $117 billion USD. After a brief dip in 2024, the segment recovered but growth has shifted from sheer volume to efficiency and profitability. The...
Strike at H&M’s Distribution Center in Ghlin
H&M Logistics announced the closure of its Ghlin, Belgium distribution center, shifting operations to Spain and Italy. The shutdown threatens 440 jobs and has sparked a strike as workers demand clarity on the site’s future. Unions say meetings under the...
More Flexible Opening Hours in Belgium: Open Until 9 P.m. and No Designated Closing Day
Belgium’s federal government has proposed extending retail opening hours to 9 p.m. every day and eliminating the mandatory weekly closing day, pending parliamentary approval. The Council of Ministers already cleared the measure, but lawmakers must give the final green light before...
Nestlé’s Restructuring Plan Is Taking Shape in France and Germany
Nestlé’s 2025 restructuring plan aims to cut 16,000 jobs worldwide and save over three billion Swiss francs (≈ $3.3 bn) by 2027. Six months after the announcement, the first layoffs have begun in France and Germany, marking the initial phase of the cost‑reduction...
Strikes at Aldi Belgium Spread Like Wildfire: Concerns over Sunday Openings
Aldi Belgium is facing a wave of spontaneous walkouts as the retailer plans to open its stores on Sundays. Over 50 locations across Flanders and Wallonia have shut their doors, with unions reporting closures in roughly a dozen provinces. Employees...
Chocolate Company Dolfin Saves Industry Peer Galler From Bankruptcy
Belgian chocolatier Galler, hit by Covid disruptions and a 2021 flood, reported a €1.7 million loss (≈$1.8 million) on €32 million revenue (≈$34.6 million) in 2024. After securing creditor protection in February, the company—partly owned by Qatar’s Al‑Afia fund—has been bought by Nivelles‑based Dolfin...
Medi-Market Aims for 1 Billion Euros in Revenue and Double the Number of Stores
Belgian drugstore chain Medi‑Market celebrated its 100th Benelux store, bringing its total to over 200 locations across five countries. The company now targets expanding to 400 stores, primarily internationally, and aims to generate €1 billion (about $1.09 billion) in revenue. Current turnover...
Average Rob Launches La Patate, a Chip Shop with International Ambitions
YouTuber and entrepreneur Robert Van Impe, known as Average Rob, is launching La Patate, a Belgian‑style chip shop, with its first outlet opening next to Antwerp Central Station in May. The concept is a joint venture with serial entrepreneurs Gilles...
Mondelez Meets Packaging Goal: 5% Recycled Plastic
Mondelez International announced it has met its European target to cut virgin plastic use by 5%, swapping rigid PET trays for containers made of roughly 80% recycled PET. The change touches flagship brands such as Milka, Oreo and Philadelphia, marking...
Aldi Belgium Considers Opening on Sundays
German discounter Aldi Belgium announced it will negotiate with unions to allow Sunday store openings, joining rivals Lidl, Carrefour and Okay. The move follows a 0.2% revenue dip in Q1 as competitors capture Sunday shoppers. Aldi’s statement emphasizes a sustainable...
Dutch People Are Flocking to Foreign Supermarkets
Dutch consumers are increasingly crossing into Germany and Belgium for groceries, with one in three shopping abroad at least once a month. The behavior is not occasional; one in seventeen Dutch shoppers make cross‑border trips weekly, and over a quarter...
Carrefour Belgium Posts Growth for the Fourth Consecutive Quarter
Carrefour Belgium posted a 0.8% like‑for‑like sales increase in Q1 2026, reaching €1.05 billion (≈ $1.14 billion) in revenue. Customer satisfaction hit its highest level since 2021, driven by Sunday openings at 83 stores, targeted promotions and lower essential‑goods prices. E‑commerce grew more than...
Margin Pressure Is Driving Food Retailers Toward Retail Media, Health, and AI
European food retailers are feeling margin pressure from rising costs and cautious shoppers. Sales in 2025 grew 3.4% driven by price inflation, while volumes rose only 0.6%, marking the second year of real growth. Private‑label share hit 40% and online...
![[Interview] “World Foods Are an Attractive Category for Retailers” (Kaisa Lipponen, Paulig)](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://i0.wp.com/www.retaildetail.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/Kaisa-Lipponen-Paulig.jpg)
[Interview] “World Foods Are an Attractive Category for Retailers” (Kaisa Lipponen, Paulig)
Paulig, a Finnish‑origin FMCG group, posted €1.39 bn (≈$1.5 bn) revenue, with food accounting for over €1 bn (≈$1.1 bn). The company operates in 13 European countries, sells in about 80 markets worldwide, and runs 14 production sites employing 2,700 staff. Leveraging recent acquisitions,...
Duvel Moortgat Acquires American Craft Beer Pioneer
Duvel Moortgat, via its U.S. arm Firestone Walker, is buying Stone Brewing from Japan’s Sapporo, adding the iconic craft label to its portfolio. The deal follows Duvel’s recent purchase of the Trumer pilsner brand, expanding its presence in the American...
Baby Formula Crisis and Iran Conflict Weigh on Danone’s Figures
Danone reported a 2.7% rise in first‑quarter FY2026 revenue, reaching €6.71 billion (about $7.3 billion). Growth was driven by a 1.5% volume mix improvement and 1.2% price increases, with the Asia‑Pacific region posting a 6% surge and the Americas 3.4%. In contrast,...
Hackers Steal Customer Data From Rituals
Cosmetics retailer Rituals announced a data breach that exposed customer names, email addresses and dates of birth across up to five countries. The intrusion did not compromise passwords or payment information, and the company says it swiftly blocked the illegal...
Iran War Weighs on the DIY Market
European DIY retailers are feeling the squeeze as online giants reshape the market. Amazon now commands roughly 15% of the continent’s DIY sales, translating to about $9.8 billion in 2024 out of a total $71.9 billion online market. Low‑cost Asian platforms such...
Carlsberg Swapping Coca-Cola for PepsiCo in Northern Europe and the Baltic States
Carlsberg Group will become PepsiCo’s exclusive bottler across Scandinavia and the Baltic states starting in 2029, ending its current Coca‑Cola bottling contracts in Denmark and Finland. The Danish brewer already bottles PepsiCo drinks in up to fourteen markets, including the...
How Bol Fell Victim to a “Fake Data Breach”: New Trend in Cybercrime
A hacker claimed to have stolen personal data of 400,000 Belgian Bol customers and posted the alleged dataset for sale on a dark‑web forum. The offer was priced at €100 (about $109) and purported to contain names, addresses, phone numbers...
Haacht Brewery’s Losses Deepen; Recovery Expected by 2030
Co.Br.Ha., the holding company for Belgium's Haacht Brewery, reported a deeper net loss of €11.4 million ($12.5 million) for 2025, up from €8.2 million ($9.0 million) a year earlier. The widening deficit was driven by severance payments and €6.5 million ($7.2 million) in financial‑asset impairments. Despite...
Primark and AB Foods Are Parting Ways: Can They Do without Each Other?
Associated British Foods announced it will spin off its fast‑fashion retailer Primark into a standalone publicly traded company by the end of 2027. The decision follows a weak half‑year where group revenue slipped 2% to £9.46 billion (about $12 billion) and pre‑tax...
Extortion in the Food Industry: Rat Poison in Baby Food Puts the Sector on High Alert
Authorities in Austria have confirmed that a 190‑gram jar of HiPP baby food tested positive for rat poison after a consumer alert. Police suspect the contamination is part of a targeted extortion scheme, an uncommon but potentially devastating tactic. HiPP...
Galeria Is Asking Property Owners to Defer Rent Payments
German department store chain Galeria has asked landlords to defer rent payments for April and September 2024 interest‑free. The retailer proposes to repay the deferred amounts in April and October 2027. Some landlords have refused, citing three bankruptcies in the...
Eroski Lets Customers Shop via WhatsApp and Delivers Within an Hour
Spanish retailer Eroski has launched Eroski Smart Shop, allowing customers to place grocery orders through WhatsApp and receive deliveries within an hour. The service is being piloted in nine Bilbao stores for a one‑year trial. Eroski will track usage, satisfaction,...
International Olive Giant Arvos Acquires Père Olive
Arvos, the world’s leading table‑olive producer, announced the acquisition of Belgium’s Père Olive from Labeyrie Fine Foods. The deal brings a refrigerated portfolio of antipasti, dips and other chilled Mediterranean products into Arvos’ lineup, which has traditionally focused on shelf‑stable...
Pernod Ricard Sees First Signs of Recovery in a Year of Decline
Pernod Ricard reported a steep sales decline, with Q4 net revenue dropping 14.6% to €1.945 billion (about $2.12 billion) and organic growth barely positive at 0.1%. Over the first nine months, total revenue fell 14.8% to €7.199 billion (roughly $7.85 billion), a 4.4% organic...
Royal Swinkels Sees Modest Growth Despite a Sluggish Beer Market
Royal Swinkels, the family‑owned brewer behind Cornet and Bavaria, posted modest revenue growth in 2025, with sales climbing €5 million to €1.118 billion (about $5.5 million to $1.23 billion). Operating profit rose to €70.2 million (~$77 million) thanks to tight cost control and strategic choices. The...
Private Label Is Once Again Growing Faster than Manufacturer Brands, but Not Everywhere
Rising grocery costs are pushing European shoppers toward private‑label products. In 2025, store brands grew faster than the overall food market in 17 European countries, both in value and volume. Switzerland led the trend, with private‑label sales up 4.1% versus...