The proportion of households who do all their grocery shopping online has doubled since 2014 according to new figures from Mintel. Research from analysts Mintel showed those who chose to shun the supermarket aisles had risen from 7% to 14%. The figures showed that 48% of consumers do at least some grocery shopping online, up from 43%. Mintel said the market would grow by 12% this year to £11.1bn after an increase of 15% in 2016 - compared to growth of just 1.5% for the overall food retail sales. (Sky News)
J Sainsbury, the British supermarket group that is trying to reinvent itself as a more digitally savvy retailer, is battling through a backlog of online grocery orders after a computer failure forced the chain to delay or cancel deliveries from nearly one in three stores. Customers across the UK waited hours for their groceries on Monday, or struggled to reach customer service lines that appeared swamped with calls. (The Financial Times £)
UK regulators have warned Heineken that its planned purchase of 1,900 Punch Taverns pubs will be investigated unless it addresses competition concerns at 33 sites in Britain (The Financial Times £). Heineken’s proposed acquisition of 1,900 pubs from Punch Taverns is close to clearing its final hurdle, writes The Times (£). Heineken reckons it can overcome concerns raised by the UK competition watchdog about its planned acquisition of part of pub group Punch Taverns, says The Telegraph. Heineken could be forced to sell pubs as part of a £403million takeover of Punch Taverns after the competitions watchdog expressed concerns (The Daily Mail).
Carlsberg has unveiled plans to reduce its brewery carbon emissions to zero, singling out Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate agreement as a motivating factor. The Danish brewer, whose beers also include Holsten Pils and San Miguel, said it would eliminate brewery emissions and halve its water usage by 2030 as part of a new sustainability drive. (The Guardian)
N Brown, the plus-sized and over-50s fashion retailer, has announced that chairman – and Morrisons chairman – Andy Higginson is leaving the company to “pursue opportunities in private equity”. Higginson has been at N Brown for the past five years as it transforms itself from a catalogue and direct mail business into an online retailer. (The Telegraph)
The head of the company behind Patisserie Valerie has joined the board of the Restaurant Group, bolstering its senior team’s food sector experience in an attempt to support its turnround efforts. Paul May, chief executive of Patisserie Valerie Holdings, will become a non-executive director on July 3. (The Financial Times £)
British tobacco company Imperial Brands has appointed the chairman of a Canadian medicinal cannabis group to its board. Imperial said on Tuesday that Simon Langelier had been appointed as a non-executive director, citing his 30-year career with Philip Morris International, but he is also chairman of PharmaCielo, a “supplier of medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts and related products”. (The Financial Times £)
The Cheesecake Factory has blamed lousy spring weather for soggy sales, issuing a surprise profit warning that has pushed the US casual-dining chain’s shares down as much as 10.8% on Tuesday. (The Financial Times £)
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