Lidl has accused its bigger rival Tesco of “deception” during the latest round of a long-running legal battle between the two supermarket chains over the use of a yellow circle logo (The Guardian). Lidl has accused Tesco of “deceiving customers” during a High Court battle over the use of a yellow circle logo (The Financial Times £). The two supermarkets are at loggerheads over claims by Lidl that Tesco infringed its copyright by using a yellow circle to promote its clubcard prices (The Telegraph). The dispute centres on Tesco’s use of a yellow circle to highlight offers available to members of its Clubcard loyalty scheme, which the German discounter Lidl said infringes a trademark and copyright for its main logo (The Times £).

Carlsberg sounded a warning on rising beer prices as it predicted “another challenging year” on the back of soaring commodity and energy prices. (The Times £)

Carlsberg wants to insert a buyback clause when selling its large Russian business that would offer the world’s third-largest brewer a way of ultimately returning to the ostracised country (The Financial Times £).

British consumers sharply cut their spending in January as the cost of living crisis damaged household finances, retailers have warned, amid growing concern over the impact of high inflation on the economy (The Guardian). UK retail sales growth more than halved at the start of the year as shoppers put the post-festive brakes on their spending and braced for another rise in energy bills (The Daily Mail).

Lidl is winning around £10million of business from its more expensive rivals every month as shoppers hunt for bargains. Customers who usually shop at Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s have spent £120m at the German discounter in the past year. (The Daily Mail)

McDonald’s has signed a legally binding pledge with the equality watchdog amid concerns over how it has handled sexual harassment complaints made by UK staff (The Guardian). McDonald’s has signed a legal agreement with the equality watchdog amid concerns over how it has handled sexual harassment complaints made by UK staff (Sky News). The fast food giant had signed a legal agreement with the EHRC to protect staff from sexual harassment. The EHRC said that it did “not enter into agreements lightly” (The BBC).

Amazon’s retreat on physical stores shows that disruption is harder than it looks after it paused once ambitious plans to plunge into physical shopping with thousands of new stores. The ecommerce giant has closed some Amazon Fresh groceries and Go convenience stores and won’t open more until it finds a format that “is differentiated in some meaningful fashion and where we like the economics,” chief executive Andy Jassy told analysts. (The Financial Times £)

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