4. Made.com snaps up Trouva to expand choice and reach

Made, an online retailer which designs and sells homewares and furniture, has announced the acquisition of Trouva.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The latter is a platform to discover independent boutiques and brands, offering customers a curated range of homewares, lifestyle and fashion products.

Launched in 2015, Trouva has its HQ in London. The company has relationships with over 700 boutiques across Europe and has delivered to 34 countries worldwide this year. 

It will continue to operate as a standalone brand led by the current leadership team of Alex Loizou (CEO) and Dimple Patel (COO).

5. Ikea announces major investment in store network as it adapts to online boom

Ingka Group, the largest Ikea retailer, is to invest more than €3 billion in new and existing stores by the end of next year.

“More than ever before, we want to optimise our network of stores in order to cater for an inspiring shopping experience – no matter how or where our customers choose to engage with us,” says Tolga Öncü, Retail Operations Manager, Ingka Group.

“With this investment we aim to secure the long-term viability of our business by making Ikea more accessible, more affordable and more sustainable.”

The company will focus its expansion investments in new physical stores – such as the one opening this week in Nice  – as well as in revamping existing ones for a more immersive experience and to support increasing demand for home deliveries.

Recently a store in Kuopio, Finland, was rebuilt to also fulfil customer online orders, allowing customers to get their orders in half the time and with 40% reduced cost of delivery for pick-up parcels.

6. Instacart submits confidential filing to go public

Grocery delivery big hitter Instacart has submitted a confidential filing to go public.

The company did not offer any indication of timing for its debut.

A spokesperson would not confirm whether an initial public offering was planned or a direct listing.

Instacart saw an explosion in demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.

But in March, it reduced its internal valuation from $39 billion to $24 billion, stating that it was confident in its business but was not “immune to the market turbulence that has impacted leading technology companies”.