News about Retail & HoReCa
US coffee chain Starbucks announced on May 15 another round of layoffs among corporate staff and plans to close some regional support offices as part of its ongoing strategy to financially revitalize the business.
Retail turnover in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2026 increased by 11.2% compared to the same period of 2025. In March, the growth accelerated to 12.8 percent in annual terms, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine said.
French luxury holding LVMH has agreed to sell the Marc Jacobs brand to the American company WHP Global, which manages a number of fashion brands and actively buys fashion assets. G-III Apparel Group is also involved in the deal. According to Reuters and the Financial Times, the value of the brand could be about $1 billion.
Starbucks shares rose in pre-market trading after analysts at TD Cowen upgraded the stock to a “buy” rating and raised the price target to $120.
A heated discussion has erupted in the media about the reasons and consequences of the abolition of restrictions on trade markups on socially important goods from April 30 this year. Opposition politicians argue that this will lead to price increases and scare with the rise in the price of bread.
Russian travelers are actively reconsidering their preferences when planning foreign trips in the coming summer.
Due to the conflict over Iran, a Japanese snack food manufacturer is forced to abandon brightly colored packaging. Calbee Inc. announced that some of its products will temporarily switch to a black-and-white design due to disruptions in the supply of components for color ink.
Moldova’s e-commerce market reached 640,000 active shoppers in March 2025, and the number of active online stores reached around 2,800 in the first half of the year. The growth is structural – estimated at 7-9% p.a. in 2025-2026 – and comes exclusively from generational shifts and gradual adoption of digital habits. The EU accession process is gaining momentum. A major Romanian retailer has publicly stated that it is considering entry.
After two major global staff cuts, Swedish furniture store chain Ikea has announced that it is closing up store. This is the first time this has happened in 40 years.
Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani is preparing a possible sale of 15% of shares in the company, while the package may be distributed among three strategic investors – L’Oréal, LVMH and EssilorLuxottica. This was reported by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
Moldexpo exhibition center summed up the results of the auction for leasing six land plots. According to the company’s management, annual revenues from the new contracts will amount to 6.8 million lei.
eBay’s board of directors rejected GameStop’s $56 billion merger proposal, deeming it “neither credible nor attractive.”
Online fast fashion retailers Shein and Temu have entered a legal standoff in London, mutually accusing each other of copyright infringement and unfair competition. The case could set a precedent for the global e-commerce industry, where issues of copying designs, product images and marketing practices are becoming increasingly acute.
The Vatican has once again found itself at the center of fashion discussions. The new pope – Pope Leo XIV – has suddenly attracted attention not by preaching, but by wearing shoes. In the trailer of the documentary “Leone a Roma” published by Vatican News, the pontiff appeared in traditional white vestments… and vintage Nike sneakers.
Germany’s Puma is going through a difficult period, with the company recording a loss in 2025 and warning that 2026 could remain unprofitable due to weak demand and business restructuring.
American Kontoor Brands has started the process of selling the Lee jeans brand. The bidding procedure started in the first quarter of 2026 and has already attracted the interest of a number of potential buyers. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.
In Moldova, the System of Deposit for Packaging (SDA) is not yet operational, but there is already a conflict between major market operators and state authorities. At issue is the choice of the administrator of the SDA system, a mechanism that should ensure the collection of used containers and increase their recycling rate. The idea itself is not disputed. What is disputed is how the future administrator was selected, how transparent the procedure was and why some of the major market players were left out.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup (2026 World Cup), which will take place from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Mexico and Canada, is projected to be a powerful driver of the global economy, capable of bringing significant GDP growth and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. By expanding the format to 48 teams and hosting matches in 16 cities, the scale of the event promises an unprecedented economic impact.
The products of the Chisinau-based factory Viorica Cosmetic entered the Turkish retail market and started to be sold in the BIM chain of stores. This was reported by the Moldovan Embassy in Turkey.
Brazil and Vietnam lead the world ranking of coffee producers by a large margin from their competitors. And in different categories: Brazil is the champion in Arabica, Vietnam in Robusta. Ethiopia, the historical homeland of the product, is only a close second among the global top five coffee producers.
