To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world:

August 28 – Nordic Retailer, H&M Launches New Store, Arket
The first Arket store that features fashion and home products opened in London on Regent Street and the company has launched the online store.  Additional store openings are planned for Copenhagen, Brussels and Munich. From Business Insider – Nordic

August 28 – Mobile Aps in Colombia Vastly Change Consumer Shopping from Chains such as Jumbo, Makro, Ara Justo & Bueno
Colombians have been able to reduce their shopping time from three hours to 30 minutes using Mercadonid. A website that serves the grocery channel confirms the tops sellers in grocery are bananas followed by milk.  Grupo Éxito, the largest retailer in the country, seeks to offer convenient, omnichannel purchasing sales strategy to its customers. From Portafolio

August 27 – Why Amazon Isn’t Ready for Prime Time in China
Alibaba and JD.com have kept e-commerce giant at bay by boosting offerings and dangling discounts. In launching its Prime membership program in China last fall, Amazon.com Inc. was betting that the lure of hard-to-find Western goods and free international deliveries would be enough to get traction in the world’s largest e-commerce market. This hasn’t happened, according to retail analysts, underscoring the difficulties faced by U.S. technology companies as they try to compete in a country with high hurdles for outsiders. From The Wall Street Journal

August 25 – Amazon to Open a New Fulfilment Centre in Bristol, UK
Amazon has announced plans to open a fulfilment centre in Bristol in 2018, creating more than 1,000 permanent jobs in the local area. From HousewaresLive.net

August 25 – FALABELLA Eager to Exploit Online Growth in Colombia
Chilean retailer Falabella plans to increase Colombian online turnover by 40% this year. Smartphone sales will be key to this growth, the retailer said. From Planet Retail

August 25 – The Co-Operative To Open Three New Stores In London And Essex
UK retailer the Co-operative has announced that it is investing £2.2 million to open three new stores in Chelmsford, Walthamstow and Hornchurch. From European Supermarket Magazine

August 24 – Wal-Mart China to Open Additional Sam’s Club Stores
Currently, there are 17 Sam’s Clubs in 14 cities in China and the retailer plans to open at least five additional outlets in Jiangsu Province. From Shanghai Daily

August 22 – Flipkart Global to Enable Sellers to Export Worldwide
Indian e-commerce marketplace Flipkart on Tuesday announced the rollout of ‘Flipkart Global’, a programme that will provide its 100,000-plus sellers with an opportunity to export their products to buyers across 190-plus countries. From The Hindu Business Line

August 22 – Tesco Leads U.K. Supermarket Pack As Lewis’s Revival Continues
Tesco Plc’s sales growth outpaced its main U.K. rivals in the last month as the country’s biggest grocer continued its revival in the face of a squeeze on disposable incomes. From European Supermarket Magazine

August 21 – Thailand’s Central Group to Invest $512 Million in Vietnam
Thailand’s Central Group has revealed plans to invest US$512 million in Vietnam over the next five years, to expand its retail operations. The company, which has acquired local businesses and is introducing its own Thai retail banners into the fast-growing market, is aiming to achieve sales growth of between 20 and 30 per cent annually there. It already has 160 outlets, including Robins department stores and the Big C hypermarket chain, the latter of which recorded 11 per cent sales growth in July. From Inside Retail Asia

August 18 – ALIBABA Group’s Second Quarter Revenues Surged 56% to US$7.4 Billion 
Gross merchandising volume at its business-to-consumer site, Tmall, soared 49%, with fashion and apparel, consumer electronics and fast moving consumer goods among the key categories that expanded robustly. From Shanghai Daily

August 18 – Australian Retailer House Anticipates Expansion into UK
Global Retail Brands, parent company of House, opened a new concept store in Melbourne with the goal of testing the waters on a retail format that the company hopes to take to the UK. From Inside Retail

August 14 – Auchan to Open its First Supermarket in Romania by End-2017
French retailer Auchan, which operates hypermarkets and proximity stores in Romania, said on Wednesday it will open its first supermarket in the country by the end of the year. From SeeNews.com

August 11 – Spar India Opens 18th Store With New Hypermarket In Coimbatore
Spar India has opened a new hypermarket in the Prozone Mall in Coimbatore, which is the retailer’s 18th store in the country. The new Spar hypermarket is 2,787 square metres in size, and offers a wide assortment of products. The store includes a beauty section, home furnishings, an area for children, and a restaurant. From European Supermarket Magazine

August 10 – Alibaba to Hold Gateway Canada Event Highlighting China Opportunity on September 25
Alibaba Group today announced Gateway Canada, a one day event to educate Canadian companies, agribusinesses, entrepreneurs, and the travel and hospitality industry about tapping the rapidly growing demand among Chinese consumers for imports and international tourism experiences. The event will take place on September 25, 2017 at the Enercare Centre in Toronto. From Business Wire

August 8 – China’s E-commerce Giant, Alibaba, Will invest US$1.1 Billion in Indonesia’s Largest Online Marketplace, Tokopedia.
Alibaba’s move is a latest step in the company’s expansion of its online retail business in Southeast Asia. From China Daily

August 8 – PETS AT HOME Delivers Healthy Growth in Q1
Pets at Home’s Q1 revenues rose 5% to £256.5m, driven by like-for-like (LFL) revenue growth of 2.7% and the opening of new stores and services. This growth represents an improvement on that reported in recent quarters. Like -for-like sales growth was broken down into 1.5% for the Merchandise division, as the investment into pricing and operational cost savings both continue as planned. From Planet Retail

August 4 – US Online Retail Giant Amazon to Build New Logistics Center in Spain
Amazon announced on Thursday that it will be opening a new logistics center in Illescas, Toledo, from where it will be able to serve customers all over Europe. The American online retailing giant’s new project in Spain is expected to create 900 jobs in its first three years of operation. From El Pais

August 3 – Australian Housewares Chain Set to Launch in UK
Australian housewares chain House, which is owned by Global Retail Brands, is preparing to move into the UK market. Global Retail Brands aims to open its first tranche of House stores by April 2018, with a total of 75 stores planned within three years. From HousewaresLive.net

August 3 – Carrefour Acquires 20 Stores in Turkey
Carrefour Turkey has acquired 20 stores from Migros Ticaret and Tesco. From Kantar Retail IQ

August 2 – Amazon India to Set up Three More ‘Fulfilment Centres’
E-commerce major Amazon India will set up three more ‘fulfilment centres’ in the country as a part of its expansion programme by Diwali, it said on Wednesday. From LiveMint

August 2 – Amazon Picks its First Australian Warehouse, a Step Towards Launching
U.S. retail giant Amazon.com unveiled the site of its first Australian warehouse on Thursday and named a German executive as country manager, signaling it is prepared for industrial strife in the world’s 12th-biggest economy. Three months after revealing plans to launch online shopfront service Amazon Marketplace in Australia, the Seattle-based retailer said it had chosen an industrial area outside the second-biggest city Melbourne for its first warehouse. From Reuters

The International Business Council is a special interest group of IHA members, dedicated to helping its membership market and sell their products internationally by sharing information, providing networking opportunities and offering programs to assist, support, and educate. Membership is free to all regular, IHA members – visit the IBC website to learn more.