The weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the biggest stories from the past few days, including Asda, Alibaba Group and Rohlik.

1. Asda launches one hour online delivery service

Asda has announced a one hour Express Delivery service, offering its full online range of over 30,000 products.

This has been launched at three Asda stores, with the retailer stating that there is potential to quickly roll-out the service to more locations if it proves popular with customers.

Yet another example of COVID finishing what Amazon started... https://t.co/uldlMlw0J1
— Natalie Berg (@Natalie_Berg) June 30, 2021

2. Alibaba's Daniel Zhang talks emerging DTC brands and omnichannel challenges

Alibaba Group Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang has predicted the rise of a new generation of digitally native consumer brands, where designers tap data analytics to meet changing consumer trends.

Speaking at the virtual Global Summit, hosted by The Consumer Goods Forum, Zhang noted that the coronavirus pandemic has transformed how people build businesses.

He sees D2C models coming to the fore. “I strongly believe this is going to happen elsewhere in the world, but China is obviously taking the leading position and moving very quickly, especially for new brands’ development and the D2C model,” he commented.

Alibaba Group Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang predicts the rise of a new generation of digitally native consumer brands, where designers use data analytics to meet changing consumer trends. https://t.co/qVa1FtQqEM
— Alibaba Group (@AlibabaGroup) June 25, 2021

3. Rohlik nabs unicorn status following Series C funding round

Czech online grocery startup Rohlik has announced a €100 million Series C funding round, valuing it at €1 billion.

The was led by Index Ventures, which was also part of Rohlik’s $230 million Series B that it raised earlier this year. Previous backers including Partech and Quadrille Capital also participated in the latest round.

Rohlik has expanded to Hungary and Austria and is working on its first launch in Germany, in Munich. Romania, Italy, France and Spain are also on its list.

4. 2021 RTIH retail technology awards open for nominations

The third edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards has opened for entries.

The awards, sponsored by leading technology service provider PMC, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

https://t.co/ZsAYD5qnEm We are delighted to announce our headline sponsorship of the @RTIH_RetailTech Innovation Awards 2021 celebrating the agile and innovative successes of the retail industry during a challenging year. #PMCRetail #RetailInnovation pic.twitter.com/aWnNC0fN0m
— PMC (@PMCRetail) June 16, 2021

5. Gap shutters UK and Ireland stores and bets on online success

US fashion retailer Gap is set to close all its 81 stores in the UK and Ireland and go online only.

A spokesperson said the decision followed a strategic review of its European business. As a result, it is also looking to offload its stores in France and Italy.