Russia's Vkusno i Tochka (Tasty and That's It) fast food chain, which appeared n the country instead of McDonald's, will have meal combos for children similarly to Happy Meal, the company's press service told RBC. The sets will be called "Kids Combos." The company will remove toys from the sets to replace them with books. The new products will be available at restaurants of the network from December 12 in Novokuznetsk, Novosibirsk, Berdsk, Barnaul, Tomsk, Kemerovo and Krasnoyarsk. Kids Combos will be available throughout Russia starting from January. Kids Combos will include nuggets, cheese snacks, classic burgers, salads, carrot sticks and apple wedges, as well as a drink of choice, a representative of Tasty and That's It said.

H&M clothing, footwear and accessories store on Tverskaya Street in Moscow closed on November 30.  An employee was filmed removing store banners and signs. A note to customers on a window says that the store is permanently closed, but all returns will be processed accordingly.  The staff of H&M Russia recorded a video in which they say goodbye to customers. 

Sberbank — Russia's largest state-owned bank — has the only foreign branch in India. In early November it was reported that Sberbank was going to open a branch in China. According to Alexander Vedyakhin, deputy chairman of the board, all the necessary documents have been sent to China, RBC reports. "We have been communicating with the People's Bank of China a lot lately. We have sent a massive package of documents there, as the Chinese regulator is very meticulous about documents. I hope that by the end of 2023 we will be able to open a branch in China. It usually takes 1.5-2 years, but we hope that by the end of 2023 we will already have a branch in this country,” Alexander Vedyakhin said. Sberbank opened a representative office in China in 2010; A representative office of Sberbank appeared in Germany in 2009; Sberbank has only one branch abroad — in New Delhi, India. After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Sberbank came under sanctions from Western states: the United States and Great Britain froze the bank's assets and banned citizens from doing business with it, whereas the EU disconnected Sberbank from the SWIFT interbank data exchange system.

Economist Vladislav Inozemtsev writes about the change in the leadership of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers “At the end of last week ... at a meeting of the Council of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers of Russia, its long-term president, Yuri Pilipenko, who has held this post since 2015, was not re-elected for another term. (It is noteworthy that on the morning of December 15, he, being a president of the Chamber, sent a letter to the head of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, James MacGuill, expressing concern about the situation with the protection of the legal rights of Russians in European countries).” Inozemtsev notes that Pilipenko is a “highly experienced lawyer” who, as it would seem, “talentedly led a professional organization of lawyers, skillfully resolving any sensitive issues in the interaction between the legal community and the authorities, and at the same time demonstrating a willingness to independently make important decisions for the legal workers without waiting for the initiatives of the Ministry of Justice and the Kremlin.”

Russian-Indian joint enterprise Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited intends to completely localise the production of AK-203 assault rifles in India, TASS reports with reference to Russia's defence export giant Rosoboronexport. "The production plans of the joint venture include plans for the 100-percent localisation of the production of AK-203 assault rifles in India," the company noted. "In addition, the joint venture may increase production and upgrade to produce prospective models on the platform of the Kalashnikov assault rifle,” Rosoboronexport said. In October, the company promised that the Russian-Indian plant for the production of AK-203 Kalashnikov assault rifles (7.62 by 39 mm caliber) in the Indian city of Corva would be ready to begin the production of weapons before the end of 2022.

The Arbitration Court of the Nizhny Novgorod region arrested all assets of German automaker Volkswagen in Russia, Interfax reports. Since March 17, Volkswagen has been banned from conducting any registration actions, such as actions to liquidate, reorganise or change the composition of participants, increase and decrease the authorized capital of the Russian subsidiary of Volkswagen and its legal entities. Volkswagen's assets in Russia ere banned following a court appeal from Russia's GAZ automobile group from March 14. The document was published in the file of arbitration cases.

Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International considers selling the Russian division or withdrawing it from the structure of the group. Raiffeisen's "daughter" will continue running "certain banking activities" in Russia to maintain license. At the moment, the bank can not get rid of all of its business in Russia, but is striving for this to happen, RBI CEO Johann Strobl said. The RBI Group in Russia is represented by Raiffeisenbank, as well as leasing, insurance and management companies. The company's subdivisions employ over 9,000 people.

Reckitt Benckiser, a British company that produces, among other things, Durex condoms, decided not to leave the Russian market, Baza Telegram channel said with a reference to an anonymous source. The UK-based company does not intend to either wrap up its business or transfer it to anyone. Former CEO Laxman Narasimhan, who left the company in September 2022, earlier spoke about Reckitt Benckiser's pullout from the Russian against the background of the crisis in Ukraine. Reckitt Benckiser manufactures and distributes a variety of products in more than 200 countries of the world. It is widely known for such brands as Vanish and Cilit Bang cleaning products, Nurofen pain reliever, Strepsils cough drops and Durex condoms.

Tinkoff's new headquarters occupies ninety thousand square metres in two high-rise towers — of 13 and 20 storeys — at the AFI Square business centre on Gruzinskiy Val. Called Tinkoff Space, the company's new headquarters is designed in the style of Western big tech firms such as Google and Amazon. It includes a flexible workspace, a private clinic offering a full range of healthcare services, cafes and restaurants, a consumer services centre, a beauty salon, a free-of-charge fitness centre for company employees, as well as relaxation areas: a green garden space filled with real plants, norki (dedicated rest areas) and meditation rooms. According to Stanislav Bliznyuk, Chairman of Tinkoff's Management Board, the company decided to relocate due to its growing headcount:

The Committee on Customs and Tariff Regulation of the Russian Government decided to ban exports of durum wheat from the country from December 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024. In accordance with the proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economic Development, a tariff quota was set on exports of main grains — wheat, barley, corn, rye — from February 15 to June 30, 2024. The quota amounts to 24 million tons; it does not apply to supplies to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Durum wheat is widely used for the production of pastas. According to Interfax, experts explain the decision to ban exports of durum wheat with a significant rise of such exports. The Russian Grain Union indicated that shipments of durum wheat in annual terms increased by almost 13 times from July 1 to November 10.

BRICS+ Fashion Summit, the International Forum, came to an end in Moscow. It took place from 28 November to 2 December. This event powered by Fund of Fashion and supported by the Moscow Government, was attended by delegations from 60 countries. On the last day of the Forum, all the key events took place in the underground exhibition space of Zaryadye Park. 120+ brands from Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Burundi, Egypt, India, Indonesia, China, Libya, Nigeria, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, and other countries took part in the B2B-showroom on the final day of the event. Designers and buyers once again met for business matchmaking there. Speakers from Russia, India, Columbia, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka participated in the fashion intensive course. During the lectures and seminars included the speakers talked about collaborations, brand philosophy, zero waste production, and inclusivity.

The Russian authorities lifted temporary state management from the assets of French food giant Danone in Russia. The decision was made for reasons of expediency, Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. On March 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to cancel the nationalisation of Danone's business and its transfer to Russia's Federal Property Management Agency. According to Peskov, all factors and conditions need to be weighed accordingly in every situation like this. Therefore, it does not mean that the Russian leadership will make similar decisions in relation to other foreign companies.

Belarus suddenly banned the sale of Russian-made tea. According to the Ministry of Health of Belarus, the reason for this decision was a violation of requirements for microbiological indicators of product safety. Sanitary services of Belarus found traces of fungus in several types of tea produced by Orimi LLC, a Russian legal entity. Belarus banned all brands of tea produced by this company, their import into Belarus was restricted as well. The list of prohibited products includes such tea brands as: Greenfield, TESS, Princess Nuri, Princess Java, as well as some types of Jardin and Jockey coffee. Orimi LLC is taking necessary measures to prove the stability of production processes and effectiveness of the safety control system, the Belarusian Ministry of Health added. Restrictions on the sale of products may be lifted as soon as the company meets all relevant requirements of the Health Ministry of Belarus.

Vladislav Bakalchuk, co-founder of one of Russia's largest marketplace platform Wildberries, announced an attempted gangster-style takeover of the company. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov posted a video of his conversation with Bakalchuk on his Telegram channel. Bakalchuk said that in early July, Russ Outdoor company, headed by Levon and Robert Mirzoyan, tried to take over the assets of Wildberries by means of legal schemes. According to the co-founder, they deceived his wife, Tatyana Bakalchuk, after which she left home without an opportunity to see her husband to discuss what was happening. The marketplace merged with Russ Outdoor Company in June; the shares of both companies in the business were approximately equal.

Nornickel's plans to move copper plant production to China have raised questions both in the government and among experts. In April, Nornickel (Norilsk Nickel) announced plans to "create a joint venture with international partners and transfer part of the copper plant's capacities from Norilsk to China." The copper plant will continue to operate "modern copper concentrate preparation facilities and industrial 3D printers." "We are transferring our environmental problems, settlement problems, problems of market access and customization of our goods for the consumer market to where they can be solved most effectively — to China," Vladimir Potanin, co-owner of PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel said in an interview with Interfax.

Omni-ID, the developer of passive industrial radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, used by major global organisations for monitoring the location and identity of assets, has appointed Amir Mobayen as Chief Revenue Officer.

A new research report has revealed the innovative new ways retailers are using RFID technology in-store to improve profitability.

Offering insights into the most effective, tried and tested approaches to managing retail risk, supplier of loss prevention solutions and retail technology, Checkpoint Systems UK, has revealed the conference agenda for its upcoming appearance as title sponsor at Retail Risk London on 22 July 2021.

Omni-ID has been acquired by HID Global, worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) provides new and profitable opportunities for increasing organisational, financial and operational performance. For instance, the retail and logistics industries can benefit from the superior RFID technology. DENSO explains why.

Despite increasing concerns surrounding food waste, more than 89 million tonnes of food are thrown away every year in Europe. The grocery retail sector contributes some 5% to the total amount, often due to expired fresh produce, equating to more than 4.45 million tonnes.

RFID technology does not just exist since yesterday, but especially now, it has a major impact on the profits and losses of companies, for example in retail and logistics. RFID tags that are attached to goods can be read with mobile computers in such a way that real-time results for transactions, stock levels or the order history of customers are displayed.

The use of RFID offers a whole range of advantages, two of which clearly stand out: precision and speed. DENSO explains what this means for the retail sector.

The premium quality barcode and RFID solutions provider inotec is currently producing 40 million RFID identification cards for a market-leading international discount supermarket chain. The exceptionally large RFID card order was placed after the discount supermarket’s strategic decision to install new crate track and trace systems. 

RAIN Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag integrated circuits’ (IC) worldwide sales volume for the second year in a row smashed industry forecasts increasing 36% over the last year helping to nudge lifetime sales past the 100 billion tag IC sold barrier. This is the seventh year in a row of sales growth for RAIN RFID tag IC sales according to the RAIN Alliance, an industry technology group.

Special Technology Report on Mobile Computing /Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC).

RetailTechnologyReview.com.com spoke with leading spokespeople within the vendor and analyst community about current trends and developments within the automatic identification & data capture (AIDC)/mobile computing solutions space, including those related to modern supply chain challenges and omnichannel.

Supply chain hardware, software and services company Renovotec is launching a ‘fast improvement manufacturing programme’ designed to deploy those technologies that have the greatest impact on supply chain manufacturing.

By David Burns, freelance writer.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an identification system that works through radio frequencies that can track and identify authorised entry tools such as fobs and key cards. Not only is RFID a significant security measure, but it also provides your team with a reliable and efficient method of access.

SATO has launched its RAIN RFID1-based asset management solution ASETRA in Europe. The easy to deploy system comprising RFID tags, RFID printers and desktop reader/writers accurately and easily tracks and manages assets through the supply chain.

By Bryan Luna, freelance writer.

Read on to learn the different types and features present in various barcode scanners to make the right decision for your business and employee needs.

By Alastair Bright, freelance writer.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Near Field Communication (NFC) are two wireless communication technologies that enable data exchange through radio waves. While NFC is primarily used in contactless payments, RFID is widely utilized for asset and location tracking. Both technologies, however, also have versatile applications beyond their primary uses.

Riverside Greetings, the supplier of greeting card solutions, has developed RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology which is claimed to dramatically accelerate category growth in the convenience and forecourt sector.

PervasID, provider of passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader systems for automating inventory and asset tracking, has launched a new advanced version of TrackMaster, claimed to provide greatly enhanced return on investment performance.

RAIN Alliance, the non-profit industry organisation supporting the development and adoption of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), has announced that 44.8bn RAIN RFID tag chips were shipped globally in 2023.This figure represents year-on-year growth of 32%, and reflects increasing demand across a variety of industries....

RAIN Alliance, the non-profit industry organisation supporting the development and adoption of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), has published its bi-annual research report ‘Global Markets & Applications for RAIN RFID Solutions’, produced by VDC Research.

According to Forbes, the global smart retail market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 29.1% by 2030. DENSO accompanies retailers into the future with RFID.

2022 was the second highest year of activity in the global self-checkout market, according to a brand-new report from RBR Data Services, a division of Datos Insights. Global EPOS and Self-Checkout 2023 shows that with an ever-wider range of retailers embracing the technology, competition in the market remains fierce.

Manhattan Associates Inc has announced that PacSun, the specialty retailer of emerging youth brands and trending fashion, has selected Manhattan Active Point of Sale to enhance its omnichannel sales strategy and deliver a seamless, unified customer shopping experience.

Checkout finance provider, Divido, has launched two new product capabilities ‘Divido Analytics’ and ‘Split Capability’, allowing merchants to have greater understanding and flexibility over their checkout finance experience.

There were more than two million programmable EPOS units delivered worldwide last year, according to Global EPOS and Self-Checkout 2023, a brand-new study from strategic research and consulting firm RBR Data Services, a division of Datos Insights.

The number of POS software installations at major retail and hospitality operators worldwide surpassed 9 million as of June 2023, according to a new study from strategic research and consulting firm RBR Data Services, a division of Datos Insights.

Competition between vendors to provide POS software remains fierce, with more than 125 suppliers working with major retail and hospitality chains, according to Global POS Software 2023, the latest study from strategic research and consulting firm RBR Data Services, a division of Datos Insights.

By Brad Hyett, CEO at phos.

SoftPoS, also known as Software Point of Sale, is a software-based solution enabling merchants to convert their NFC-enabled smartphones or tablets into functional payment terminals.

Manhattan Associates Inc. has announced significant enhancements to its Manhattan Active Point of Sale (POS) application designed to meet the dynamic needs of modern store associates.

By Jeremy Landau, freelance writer.

Retail's dynamic environment is seeing a real shift, driven by the integration of advanced software solutions. This goes beyond a mere technological upgrade – it's about completely transforming the customer experience.

By Jeremy Landau, freelance writer.

It’s no secret that when your business begins to grow, you will need to add staff to accommodate the increased sales and other demands on store operations. This tends to become more complex as your business gets larger, and staff roles and responsibilities may need to be diversified and identified, so everyone knows what they should be doing.

In the ever-evolving landscape of retail, businesses face an ongoing challenge: theft.Despite many retailers implementing additional security measures, the issue of stolen goods continues to plague the industry with beers and wine, health and beauty products, and baby formula being the most common stolen goods.

By Ryan Edwards, freelance writer.

Omnichannel is one of the most effective retail strategies for engaging customers, driving sales, and building lasting relationships. A way to strengthen this game-changing approach is the revolutionary power of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Nexi, the European PayTech, now enables merchants in Italy to accept in-person contactless payments seamlessly and securely with Tap to Pay on iPhone, and will continue to expand the availability of Tap to Pay on iPhone to its customers in Europe where the service is available.

Cleveron, a click-and-collect automation solutions innovator, is proud to launch a modular outdoor parcel locker, Cleveron 355. The newest solution is specially engineered for DIY and home furnishing retailers, enabling the automated handover of extra-large items.