An interesting survey of leading brands. And in Spain, the world’s leading producer of olive oil, the Andalusian cooperative Dcoop has denounced widespread fraud in Spain concerning refined olive oils. According to the stark accusation, in some cases these are mixed with lower-quality oils such as pomace and sunflower oils
When it comes to knowledge, innovation, skills, the manufacturing industry, US debt and rare earths, China certainly holds more ‘cards’ than the US
The real crux of the matter is the rapid technological advancement of Walmart and Amazon, the undisputed market leaders, which European retailers can never hope to match, and which will continue to subject them to unfair competition from online platforms
Donald Trump could have dealt the final blow in the war against Vladimir Putin’s Russia and brought it down. All the conditions were in place, but he decided instead to remain ‘Our man in Washington’: Trump in the hands of the Russians
The illegal labour scheme distorts prices. As well as measures to combat organised crime, the government could start to tackle the issue of wages and consumer incentives: with wages and prices distorted by the Mafia, we won’t get very far
In response to the Soviet decision to deploy SS-20 missiles, NATO adopted the ‘twin-track approach’: to station missiles in Europe whilst simultaneously negotiating disarmament with the USSR. Italy chose Comiso Airport as the base for 112 cruise missiles. The deployment caused extremely high tensions between 1981 and 1983 and gave rise to a major peace movement. Catholic and left-wing
The alien does not come from some distant planet, but simply from the other side of the world. From Japan, for example, or from Egypt, the Atlantic, or sometimes from nearby Greece. And in Italian waters — where everything is already in place and the conditions are ideally warm — more often than not it decides to stay for good: the problem is the impact it could have, especially in the long term, on both biodiversity and our lives
Unfortunately, Mango, which is a sound company, is not acquiring a stake in the business: on the other hand, given the current situation – with losses of 35 million for the year 2025 and three further closures – it was foreseeable that there would be no ‘white knights’ available to save Coin, whose brand seems to be slowly but surely fading away
Well done to Lidl for managing to make a name for itself for something I personally haven’t noticed: that the German discount chain is a high-quality supermarket
… The same method was used to defend public funding for the promotion of red and processed meat. When the Commission considered excluding these products from programmes in line with the European plan against cancer, Copa-Cogeca engaged with certain Commissioners, the wine and spirits organisations, and national associations. The restrictions were first watered down and then dropped altogether. The comment in the internal documents is succinct: “The lobbying has paid off.”
Lidl’s marketing would have us believe that it is a supermarket. It is not, and we explain why. Furthermore, the slogan ‘eat fresh’ used by Lidl to market itself to Europeans is somewhat misleading, and Lidl cannot be an ‘ambassador of Made in Italy’ if it sells pasta made from foreign wheat as ‘Italian’
Italian, French and British retailers have drawn inspiration and lessons from their American counterparts. And the chain that opened its first supermarket 96 years ago is still family-owned: in June, King Kullen appointed its first female president, Tracey Cullen, the founder’s great-granddaughter
