Jumbo Group Navigates Market Challenges With Steady Growth In Early 2026

Robust Growth In Cyprus And Greece

Jumbo Group reported positive sales growth at the start of 2026, with revenue in Cyprus increasing by 3% in February and by 6% during the first two months of the year. The company noted that results were achieved despite a strong comparative period in 2025, when the carnival season boosted demand across several product categories.

Region-Specific Challenges And Opportunities

Network sales in Cyprus, including the online store, declined by 1.8% in February. However, cumulative sales for January and February still recorded a 4% increase compared with the same period last year. In Greece, the group’s net sales, excluding intragroup transactions, rose by 6% in February and by 8% during the first two months of the year. Bulgaria also reported strong growth. Sales increased by 7% in February and by 11% during the January–February period. Romania was the only market to record a decline. Network sales there fell by 3% in February and by 4% during the first two months of the year. The company attributed the slowdown to currency depreciation, higher VAT and new fiscal measures, alongside inflation that reached 9.6% in January.

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Strategic Expansion And Geopolitical Influences

Jumbo continues to expand its presence through international partnerships. In Israel, the group’s collaboration with Fox Group led to the opening of the fifth Jumbo store in the market. At the same time, rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are beginning to influence consumer sentiment in the region, creating additional uncertainty for retail activity.

Resilient Supply Chains And Commitment To Shareholders

The company said it has managed disruptions in international transport and supply chains through previously secured agreements with suppliers and logistics partners. The stronger euro compared with the previous year has also supported purchasing conditions. Following an extraordinary general meeting held on February 4, 2026, Jumbo announced an extraordinary cash distribution of €0.50 per share before tax. The ex-dividend date is set for March 23, 2026, while payments are scheduled to begin on March 30, 2026.

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Copyright Law Struggles To Keep Up With AI Training

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.

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