APAC retail briefing: LABUBU/Pop Mart’s blind‑box momentum, China’s Gen Z wellness shift, Australia Post’s US‑parcel pause (de minimis), “dopamine village” malls in PH, and JD.com’s new Dubai warehouse. Subscribe + comment with your action.

LABUBU/Pop Mart = modern playbook: scarcity, social currency, collaborations (host commentary).

Gen Z wellness, China: beauty x health, functional nutrition, ingestibles, and unmet needs in mental/cognitive wellness. McKinsey & Company+1

AusPost → US pause: letters/documents & low‑value gifts continue; duties need pre‑collection after de minimis shift; other posts also pausing. ABC

Malls as “dopamine villages”: SM Investments doubles down on experiences, arenas, fandoms, and tribes to capture demand. sminvestments.com

JD in Dubai: JAFZA warehouse, digital ops model, MEA reach; supports faster cross‑border. JD Corporate Blog

00:00 Welcome & cold open (Ryf + Alex)

00:30 LABUBU/Pop Mart: the blind‑box playbook (scarcity, social, IP) — host commentary

05:24 China’s Gen Z wellness wave (beauty x health; functional nutrition; unmet needs) — Source: McKinsey + Retail Asia. McKinsey & CompanyRetail Asia

09:36 Australia Post’s US‑parcel pause: why de minimis matters — Source: ABC News explainer. ABC

12:44 Malls → “Dopamine villages”: SM’s entertainment ecosystem bet — Source: SM Investments. sminvestments.com

16:30 JD.com opens Dubai warehouse: faster APAC→MEA cross‑border — Source: JD Corporate Blog. JD Corporate Blog

20:20 Wrap + next week’s K‑pop teaser

From AI-powered supermarket lanes to shifting consumer habits, Alexandra Boisson & The Retail Podcast team unpack Europe’s retail trends.

In this Five Things Friday – EU Edition, Alexandra Boisson and Alex from The Retail Podcast dive into the latest shifts in the European retail market. We cover:

Colruyt’s Easy Checkout: AI-powered cameras speeding up lanes by 70% (via ⁠RTL.be⁠).

French Summer Sales Decline: Only 39% of shoppers participated vs. 43% last year, with fewer purchases and smaller spends (via ⁠Actu-Retail⁠).

Birkenstock: Profit beats expectations despite trade tensions (via ⁠Reuters⁠).

Douglas Beauty: Strong sales in Germany and CEE offset French softness (⁠Carlsberg Group⁠).

From Currys’ Action AI rollout to Space NK’s Willy Wonka-style flagship, this week’s top UK retail stories.

In this summer edition of Five Things Friday, Alex from The Retail Podcast is joined by Simone Oloman (Co-Founder, NIFT) and Dave to unpack the hottest retail stories in the UK right now.

We cover:

Store closures & uncertainty — Claire’s administration filing, River Island restructuring, Hobbycraft closures

Store openings that wow — Space NK’s Oxford Street flagship (inspired by creator Chantelle Pang’s coverage on TikTok), Bershka’s AR mirror-powered Trafford Centre debut, and POP MART’s Liverpool ONE expansion

AI in retail operations — Currys’ partnership with Quorso to roll out “Action AI” (source: Quorso)

Beauty industry shake-up — Ulta Beauty’s acquisition of Space NK (source: Ulta Beauty Press Release)

Pop-up culture — London’s Pizzeria Pop-Up Party (source: Eventbrite)

Referenced creators and sources:

TikTok creator Chantelle Pang: TikTok profile, Space NK video

Quorso news release on Currys partnership

Ulta Beauty press release on Space NK acquisition

Eventbrite listing for Pizzeria Pop-Up Party

🎧 Follow & subscribe to The Retail Podcast for weekly retail trends, interviews, and insights from the front lines of global commerce.

Episode Keywords

In this episode of The Retail Podcast, Alex speaks with Rupert Pick, Global MD of Hot Pickle, the award-winning brand experience agency behind iconic activations for Magnum, Guinness, Marmite, Pokémon, Waitrose, Tesco, and more.

From physical brand homes to cultural relevance, Rupert reveals how Hot Pickle blends creativity, product innovation, and immersive retail activations to keep global CPG brands connected to their audiences. He explains why sampling should never be transactional, the formula for scaling playfulness, and how to avoid the “brand irrelevance” trap that’s hit names like River Island and Claire’s.

📌 Key talking points include:

How Hot Pickle launched in 2009 and grew into a global CPG & FMCG powerhouse

Strategic insights for CMOs struggling with brand relevance

The secret to building hype, scarcity, and cultural connection

Why fragrance, sound, and human interaction are often overlooked in brand activations

The rise of brand homes as multi-layered visitor experiences

How physical and digital retail experiences can fuel each other

🎯 Who should listen: CMOs, brand managers, retail innovation leads, experiential marketers, and anyone passionate about the future of brand experience.

⏱ YouTube Chapter Timestamps:

In this week’s Five Things Friday – US Edition, Alex Rezvan is joined by Jill Dvorak, SVP of Content at the National Retail Federation (NRF), to unpack five key stories shaping retail right now.

We cover:

1️⃣ Zalando’s European Growth — How the fashion giant is exceeding forecasts and expanding its portfolio ahead of NRF Big Show Europe in Paris (Sept 16–18). Read NRF’s speaker announcement

2️⃣ ShopMy and the Creator Economy — Why social-led shopping platforms like ShopMy and influencer discovery tools are redefining retail inspiration. More from Vogue Business

3️⃣ Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Beauty — From a $1B brand sale to a physical retail presence, and why its new parent, e.l.f. Beauty, keeps winning. Discover Rhode

4️⃣ Resale Market Acceleration — Deloitte research shows over 150 brands investing in in-house resale channels, while California’s new SB 707 law sets strict textile recycling rules.

5️⃣ Martha Stewart’s First Standalone Stores — Why the homeware icon is opening in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait via Marquee Brands.

🎧 Listen & Subscribe

This episode blends exclusive industry insight, global retail trends, and real-world brand examples you can act on.

Delipop shutters its robot locker network; JD.com tries a €2.2 bn play for Ceconomy/MediaMarkt; US & Chinese tourists rein‑in luxury spend; Dutch grocer Picnic finishes its Île‑de‑France roll‑out; France moves to criminalise ultra‑fast‑fashion influence. Analysis, context, and what it means for European retail.

Five Things Friday – European Edition | 7 Aug 2025

Delipop pulls the plug on robotic multi‑brand pick‑up points – after just nine Paris sites, the start‑up enters liquidation, citing regulatory confusion and investor caution. lineaires.com

JD.com’s €2.2 bn play for Ceconomy / MediaMarkt‑Saturn – the Chinese marketplace seeks an instant European footprint; German regulators will decide. Financial Times

Euro‑summer a bust for luxury – Prada, Burberry, Kering and others blame softer US & Chinese tourism. Vogue Business

Picnic’s 10th Île‑de‑France hub goes live – Dutch online grocer now reaches 2 m households around Paris with free 20‑minute slots and EV fleets. (LSA‑Conso, 2 Aug 2025).

France drafts law making ultra‑fast‑fashion influencing a crime – Shein and Temu squarely in the cross‑hairs; eco‑score and advertising fines incoming. Marie Claire UK

Why it matters: Consolidation, consumer caution and sustainability regulation are reshaping European retail. We unpack the trends and flag what to watch next.

Links & sources (fair‑use reference):

Delipop liquidation – Linéaires, 4 Aug 2025

“JD.com launches €2.2 bn offer for Ceconomy” – Financial Times, 5 Aug 2025

“Is Euro summer a bust for luxury brands?” – Vogue Business, 7 Aug 2025

“Picnic finalises Île‑de‑France roll‑out with 10th hub” – LSA‑Conso, 2 Aug 2025

(All links © their respective publishers; provided here under fair‑use for commentary.)

In this week’s Five Things Friday UK Edition, Alex and Simone break down the retail trends you can’t afford to ignore. From iconic brands fighting for survival to the innovative players winning Gen Z loyalty, we explore how cultural relevance is now the biggest currency in retail.

Topics include:

River Island & Claire’s — lessons from legacy brand struggles

Mango’s teen range expansion and the underserved youth market

UK’s booming £4.8B online second-hand homeware sector

Loop earplugs — turning hearing protection into a fashion flex

TALA’s scuba-tech leisurewear and the rise of functional style

If you’re in retail, brand marketing, or consumer strategy, this episode is your cultural trend compass.

🔗 References:

Ryf & Laura join Alex to unpack five APAC headlines: China’s Shushu·Tong shakes luxury, Korea’s “honjok” solo shoppers rewrite store design, K‑beauty label Anua wins U.S. fans, Vietnam’s retail GMV rockets 37 %, and Laura talks about in on Yotpo’s pivot plus Gen Z’s debit‑first mindset.

🎙️  Episode overview

🔗  Links & sources

🤝  Connect

Shopping online can feel like navigating endless aisles of irrelevant products, leaving customers frustrated and retailers losing sales. In this insightful episode of The Retail Podcast, host Alex speaks with Warren Cowan, CEO of Foundit, about how retailers can transform customer frustration into powerful intent-driven experiences.

Explore why traditional e-commerce fails to inspire, and discover practical strategies for surfacing relevant products at precisely the right moments. Warren shares real-world insights on how retailers can avoid overwhelming shoppers with excessive choices, reduce decision fatigue, and unlock hidden sales opportunities buried in their “dark aisles.”

You’ll learn:

The biggest frustrations online shoppers face—and how to address them.

Why a “catalog-first” mindset is holding back your e-commerce growth.

How retailers like Aldi and Lidl succeed by simplifying customer decisions.

Practical tips to shift toward customer intent-led experiences.

The role AI and automation play in future-proofing your e-commerce site.

Why traditional personalization often falls short, and what to do instead.

Join Warren Cowan and Alex as they discuss real-world successes from Foundit’s clients, including increased conversions, reduced bounce rates, and significant merchandising efficiencies. It’s time to trade frustration for inspiration and transform browsing into buying.

Featuring Warren Cowan, CEO of Foundit.

Key topics: E-commerce, customer intent, merchandising automation, retail tech, personalization, digital transformation, AI in retail, customer experience, decision fatigue, online shopping trends.

This week on Five Things Friday EU Edition, host Alex from The Retail Podcast is joined by co-host Alexandra Boisson, Retail Tech & eCommerce Specialist at Business France. Together, they explore Europe’s retail landscape—highlighting game-changing AI innovations, pivotal EU regulatory shifts, and controversial moves by major brands like Zara’s parent, Inditex.

🌍 In this episode, you’ll hear insights on:

AI Revolution in Grocery – How Auchan’s AI-generated in-store announcements boosted sales by over 60% without traditional marketing.

EU’s Major Retail Regulation Shift – Why digital product passports, a complete overhaul of the Union Customs Code, and abolishing low-value import exemptions are transforming cross-border trade in Europe.

Carrefour’s Autonomous Microstores – Carrefour Belgium’s innovative, AI-powered microstore concept debuts at Ibis Hotel near Charles de Gaulle, redefining convenience retail.

Europe’s Complex Online Shopper Behaviors – Nexi’s European Ecommerce Report 2025 reveals sharp regional differences in delivery preferences, spending habits, and product categories.

Inditex Bets Big on Discount Retail – Inditex re-launches its low-cost fashion brand Lefties in France, sparking debate on sustainability versus commercial ambition amidst fierce competition from Shein and Primark.

📌 Referenced Links & Images:

Nexi European Ecommerce Report

EU Triple Reform Announcement

Carrefour Autonomous Microstore at Ibis Hotel

Inditex Discount Strategy with Lefties

👉 Join the conversation: Can Inditex’s Lefties brand succeed without compromising sustainability?

🎧 Subscribe, share, and stay ahead of retail’s European evolution.