Furniture
Ikea is raising its prices worldwide by 9 per cent on average. The Swedish furniture giant does not see any other possibility due to the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the supply chain and raw material prices.
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Fashion
"Clothing stores are essential, because clothes - like food - are a daily necessity." That is already the opinion of a judge in the German state of Bavaria, which means that also unvaccinated people are allowed to go to clothing stores again.
General
The lockdown that is in force in the Netherlands since yesterday, can count on little understanding from retailers. Branch organisation INretail is baffled and pleads for more "intelligent measures". What will Belgium decide on Wednesday?
Property
How do the shopping streets overcome the coronavirus pandemic? What are the most important shopping destinations today? With tourists being out of sight for almost two years now and people working from home remaining the norm, we see some surprising shifts.
In Germany, only vaccinated people are allowed to visit non-essential stores: retailers must scan consumers' Covid pass upon entry. The retail sector fears for its Christmas sales.
In the Netherlands, also, the face masks in stores have made their return. Shoppers may soon have to present a Covid pass upon entering stores.
In light of the recent rise in Covid cases, wearing a face mask in Belgian stores is compulsory again, starting this Friday. The Covid Safe Ticket has to be shown in bars, restaurants and gyms as of next Monday.
Ikea has seen its global sales rise by 6.6 % in the 2020-2021 broken financial year. There was a growth of 5.8 % on the Belgian market, but in the Dutch branch of the home furnishing chain suffered from the prolonged lockdown.
Did Covid-19 really catapult e-commerce forward ten years, as the often heard statement goes these days? The European E-commerce Report paints a more nuanced picture. How did online retail really fare in Europe last year?
More and more entrepreneurs are suffering due to the dramatically increased container-shipping costs. It is primarily a result of the Covid crisis, although other elements are also at play.
According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), about a third of Vietnam's textile and clothing factories have closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. As good as all logistic chains are interrupted in the world's second-largest textile exporter, in a crisis that could cost the industry billions.
Due to the rapid increase in infections with the delta variant of the coronavirus, many retail employees have to go into quarantine. Especially in the UK, but also in the Netherlands, this leads to empty shelves and even store closures.
Food
French spirits group Rémy Cointreau has made an excellent start to the fiscal year, benefiting from the reopening of cafés and restaurants.
The corona crisis has left clothing chain WE Fashion with a heavy hangover. The retailer has suffered a severe loss last year.
After more than a year of bickering, EssilorLuxottica is paying the full price for Pearle parent GrandVision. During the Covid crisis, the acquirer accused his future partner of mismanagement, but now all seems to be rosy again.
Pierre Marcolini was hit harshly by the Covid crisis last year. But with the support of the bank and shareholder, the luxury chocolatier is adjusting its strategy.
