Cross-channel

Ikea has opened its hundredth mobile pick-up point at Tesco, the largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. On this occasion, the Swedish furniture retailer announced plans to double this number. Almost 40 percent of Ikea's UK sales now come from the online channel.

Dutch omnichannel retailer Coolblue has generated a revenue of 2.41 billion euros last year. This was an increase of 2.5 percent compared to a year earlier. Additionally, the company doubled its earnings before interest to 88.3 million euros.

A vast majority of German retailers are now selling both offline and online to their customers. According to a study by the industry association Bitkom, this figure stands at 85 percent, up from 77 percent in 2021 and just 66 percent in 2019.

Fnac Darty and CEVA Logistics are establishing a joint venture, called Weavenn. The new venture will offer SaaS marketplace technology solutions, as well as logistics. It is set to be operational as of 2024.

French cosmetics company Yves Rocher is closing all of its branches in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With the company’s current business model, it is no longer possible to operate sustainably and successfully. It will continue operating in those markets, but online only.

Ecommerce software provider Shopline is expanding into Europe. The Singapore-based company is launching a European headquarters in London. It raised 182 million dollars last year in order to accelerate its global expansion.

Ecommerce giant Zalando is streamlining its range. As a result, it will remove products of brands on June 30. After that, the brand will be completely deleted from the platform’s data.

German ecommerce giant Otto Group has disbanded its toys platform MyToys. The platform was not able to become profitable. All of its stores will have to close. The decision leads to a cut of 800 jobs.

German discounter Aldi is again expanding its ecommerce division. It has announced that it will launch an online shopping service for non-food products. The service will launch in the next few years.

The French Beaumanoir Group wants to acquire fashion retailer Sarenza. The online shop is now in the hands of Monoprix. According to the Beaumanoir Group, Sarenza will strengthen their ecommerce activities.

Ecommerce software Shopify and online video streaming platform YouTube are launching YouTube Shopping. The feature offers multiple options for live shopping, where users can purchase products directly on YouTube’s website.

JohnBeerens.com, the online beauty retailer from the Netherlands, is launching in France and Germany. The company is also working on its own product label and customer loyalty program.

Inditex, the major clothing retail group from Spain, is now charging a fixed fee for online returns. The owner of brands such as Zara, Pull & Bear and Bershka is implementing this change in 30 countries. It wants to motivate customers to return items in brick-and-mortar stores.

H&M is bouncing back from the pandemic: in 2021 the fashion retailer made 1,36 billion euros in pre-tax profits - a sixfold increase compared to the year before. Their online branch remains strong, though, growing 30 percent in the past year.

Ceconomy, the German mother company of electronic stores such as Mediamarkt, made one third of its profit from online sales in 2020. Their online revenue increased more than half in the last year. The numbers are clearly a result of coronavirus-related measures.