Spar Hungary is investing HUF 23 billion this year in development and has already spent more than HUF 2.1 billion this year in its modernization program, the company told the Hungarian news agency MTI this Thursday.

The French retail chain Auchan expands its services in Hungary, supporting multi-channel merchandise with online ordering stores. That was announced at Thursday's inauguration of a new store in Budapest by Auchan Hungary CEO Dominique Ducoux.

Businessman László Baldauf, the founder of the CBA retail store chain in Hungary, has confirmed to the news agency 'Független Hírügynökség' that seven CBA stores (two of them in Budapest) would be taken over by the German retailer Lidl.

According to a report by the Hungarian Ministry for National Economy, the volume of retail sales grew dynamically, by 6% year-on-year, in the month of May 2017. Thus, the sector has been expanding for 47 months in a row.

Fornetti has opened its FFB (Fornetti Food and Beverage) exhibition bakery at rhe Octogon in Budapest. The new store has a self-service system and will be an important part of international expansion in the future, the daily Világgazdaság writes.

Hungary’s online retail trade closed an excellent year in 2016. According to a report by eNET, Hungarian webshops generated HUF 427 billion (about EUR 1.39 billion) in turnover, more than 5% of the total national retail trade volume.

Home improvement and do-it-yourself goods hypermarket chain Praktiker has opened its 20th - and the largest - store in Hungary. The 12,000-square-meter facility, secured with a long-term rent contract, has been built in the place of a similar store.

The Sunday turnover of the biggest retail chains in Hungary has recovered to the level from before the implementation of the Sunday shopping ban only by now - after about four months, the financial website portfolio.hu reports.

Hungarian government cabinet chief Antal Rogán has announced that the government proposes to parliament to revoke the law, enacted on March 14, that banned stores of over 200 sq meters from opening on Sunday in the country.

The SPAR supermarket chain has been present in Hungary for 25 years. Austria SPAR International AG purchased a Hungarian chain of stores in 1991. The national network is now of 32 hypermarkets, 349 supermarkets and 75 franchise stores.

The European Commission has opened infringement proceedings against Hungary over the ban on loss-making in the retail sector, in the form of a Formal Notice, arguing that it may restrict the freedom of establishment for businesses.

In 1995, SPAR established a new category of commercial outlet in Hungary by opening its first Interpar hypermarket in the country. 20 years ago, it was great novelty here to have a shopping center with department store, bank, travel agency and restaurant.

Hungary’s no-work Sunday law cost more than 2,000 people their jobs in commerce by the end of April 2015, the country's Central Statistical Office (KSH) data suggest. Additionally, the number of overtime hours rose to five-year highs.

Austrian home improvement center operator bauMax AG has announced its exit from Hungary. The decision, which follows "due consideration", was made due to difficult economic conditions in this country, the company’s management said on Wednesday.

Representatives of the ruling party Fidesz and its small satellite partner Christian Democrats voted this Tuesday to prohibit large-size retail shops from opening on Sundays. No impact study has preceded the ban that is believed to be leading to layoffs.