News about Retail & HoReCa
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.
The beauty industry has found a new audience where no one has looked before – in the Formula 1 paddock. While motorsport has been associated for decades with oil giants, watch brands and energy companies, Sephora, Charlotte Tilbury and LVMH have all hit the tracks in 2026. The reason is simple: women have become one of the fastest growing segments of the championship’s audience.
Customers in Moldova this spring are increasingly choosing not specialized sports equipment, but universal clothing and footwear that are suitable for city, travel, office and training at the same time. Against this background, Adidas is strengthening its position in the lifestyle-fashion segment, where demand is growing faster than in the classic performance sport segment.
Shares of European luxury brands rose sharply amid forecasts of a possible settlement of the conflict in the Middle East. Investors are betting on the recovery of tourism and the return of demand from wealthy buyers.
American cosmetics concern Estée Lauder is expanding its personnel optimization program: the company plans to cut about 3 thousand additional jobs. Together with the previously announced layoffs, the total number of reductions will reach approximately 10 thousand employees.
In an interview with our portal, entrepreneur Mircea Baciu spoke about a real opportunity that would allow Moldova to significantly increase its exports – through the use of international online trading platforms.
On May 6, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova organized, on the platform of the Sectoral Entrepreneurship Committee, a public-private dialogue on the regulation of sugar production and import and the search for balanced solutions for the entire value chain in this sector.
The first cherries have appeared in Romanian retailers. The price per kilogram is 80-100 RON/kg.
