n For key players in the British grocery industry, 2001 could be dubbed the year of recovery. Tesco remained firmly at the top, but Sainsbury started to show real signs of renaissance and Iceland and Somerfield started to pull round. The toothless' code of practice ordered by Stephen Byers was finally released by Patricia Hewitt ­ after a long wait Toothless, flawed and ambiguous were just a few of the angry words that greeted the DTI's code of trading practice for the big four multiples, in spite of the fact that it took a year from its inception to materialise. It was in November that the big four received their definitive guide to dealing with suppliers. It was roundly denounced as flawed by supplier organisations and by Safeway, while the NFU branded it "wholly inadequate" and was angry when its pleas for the code to be legally binding and to apply to all multiples were ignored by Patricia Hewitt, secretary of state for trade and industry. The big four suppliers seemed to take the new restraints in their stride. The main points of the code require them to enter into written agreements with suppliers and give reasonable notice before changing any conditions of the contract. The multiples voiced their support for the Prince Of Wales' initiative to support the rural economy and most insisted they were keen to buy local produce. But relationships with suppliers were tested when Sainsbury and Tesco revealed it was thinking of introducing ex-factory gate pricing and reworking the supply chain to collect product direct from manufacturers. In the year which saw the 50th anniversary of the full self-service supermarket (the Express Dairies store in Streatham Hill), the whole sector enjoyed a period of big profit growth. Sainsbury and Safeway both reaped rewards for starting to reshape their businesses. Somerfield also unveiled promising results. Safeway flaunted its new superstore in Woking and its Megastore in Plymstock where the centrepiece, dubbed the hub', offers an area for relaxation. Megafresh, its rebranded Fresh to Go section, is located close to books, CDs and DVDs. It also unveiled plans for a low-cost fresh food supermarket. Sainsbury's mission was to use Reward Card data to flex ranges in promotions in new store formats. It also opened stores with mini-Boots shops and took Asda's George head on with Jeff & Co. However, it was quick to pull out of a digital TV initiative with Carlton ­ the Taste Network ­ after it failed to do the business. Somerfield's struggle to turn round its trading slump included more Megadeal cuts while Kwik Save began to modernise stores and launched a new look. Even Marks and Spencer perked up, helped in part by the success of its Simply Food convenience format and Per Una clothing range. It also focused on the UK with the closure of its European stores and announced plans to sell its US operations. Iceland was reeling from the departure of Malcolm Walker and its failed organic venture at the beginning of the year, but it had started to get its act together again when Bill Grimsey relaunched the company as The Big Food Group. Walker meanwhile, bounced back with new frozen food venture Cooltrader and organic chain As Nature Intended. Wal-Mart's purchase of Asda started paying off for the chain. It relaunched its ultra-cheap general merchandise and claimed food sales growth at double the industry average. It also came in as Britain's cheapest food retailer in The Grocer 33 annual shopping basket survey in June. Safeway pulled the plug on its home shopping service while Waitrose's joint venture with LM Solutions took its time getting off the ground, managing only to choose the name ­ Ocado. Tesco's home shopping service stormed ahead in the league tables, and it even exported its expertise to Safeway in the US. The chain also struck fear in the hearts of independents with plans for Express c-stores and continued its price war with the rest of the sector, claiming to have reduced the cost of an average weekly family shop by 20%. In its European-wide survey it proclaimed Britain was not a Rip-Off, a view not universally believed, according to an IGD survey. that revealed a significant number of consumers believed the multiples were profiting at their expense. {{NEWS }}

Topics