6 posts tagged with "retail"

What we put in our shopping carts tells a story about global supply chains and local economies. To understand this better, we've analyzed the EU Product Score across the most common supermarket categories.

This deep dive reveals a clear pattern: some aisles in the supermarket are inherently more "local" than others. We'll explore the highest and lowest scoring categories to understand why, offering a new perspective on the products we see every day.

IKEA is a global icon, synonymous with Swedish design, meatballs, and the unique challenge of assembling flat-pack furniture. The blue and yellow logo feels as Swedish as ABBA. But in a world of complex global supply chains, how much of the IKEA we know is truly rooted in its country of origin?

At EU Product Score, we don't just look at a brand's marketing; we analyze its core components through our European Score methodology. We decided to apply this framework to IKEA's business model to answer a common question: "Is IKEA really Swedish?"

The answer, like a piece of flat-pack furniture, is more complex than it first appears.

Which brands have the largest footprint in European supermarkets? And more importantly, how strong is their commitment to European origin? We dived into our database of over 100,000 products to find out.

This analysis reveals two different kinds of leaders: the titans of volume that dominate our shelves, and the champions of quality who prioritize local sourcing and manufacturing above all else. The contrast between these two groups tells the real story of the European retail landscape.

It is 18:42 in a supermarket aisle, and the trick works because you are tired. The box still has the same colors, the same cheerful promise, the same "family" label in oversized letters. Your hand remembers the product before your eyes re-check the weight. You put it in the basket and move on.

That is the modern European price story in one gesture: not always a price increase you can see, but a quantity change you are not meant to notice.

At 21:07 on a rainy Tuesday, someone in Europe closes a warehouse ledger and writes the line every fashion business used to love: unsold stock, to be cleared. For years, that line often ended in destruction, not discount. But on February 9, 2026, the European Commission made the direction unmistakable: large companies can no longer treat unsold clothing and footwear as disposable bookkeeping.

Walk into any Miniso store and you're immediately transported to what feels like Japan. The minimalist aesthetic, the clean white displays, the cute character merchandise, the satisfying organisation of everyday objects transformed into design statements.