Waitrose staff have complained in the John Lewis Partnership in-house magazine that managing director Rob Collin’s restructure of the grocer, in a strategy called Modern Waitrose, has crippled the business. One employee said it was a “shambles”, reports The Times (£). Another reader of The Gazette said they had “lost confidence” in Waitrose’s management. A Waitrose spokesman defended the corporate strategy.

Activist hedge fund Elliott Advisers’ stake increase in Whitbread to become its biggest shareholder with 6% of the company has upped pressure on the Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner to consider a break-up of the business Financial Times (£). Splitting Costa Coffee and Premier Inn would take Whitbread less than five months and would cost less than £20m, The Times (£) reports that Eillott is said to believe. The Daily Telegraph says separating Costa from Premier Inn could improve the mood among Whitbread investors, some of whom fear that the company is struggling to respond to growing competition for squeezed consumer budgets.

The Sunday Times (£) reported on the collapse of Conviviality, calling it a case study in how a £500m company can fall apart in a matter of weeks. It is a stark reminder of the dangers involved when inexperienced executives chase a strategy of aggressive acquisitions, the newspaper says. It is also an example of how stock market rules designed to protect investors can perversely accelerate a company’s demise when it enters a downward spiral. “Revealed: how not to run a p***-up an on off-licence…” screamed the headline.

A growing number of Unilever investors are opposing the Anglo-Dutch consumer giant’s proposed move to Rotterdam. The Dove soap maker has chosen the Dutch city as its sole headquarters — putting a question mark over whether it will remain in the FTSE 100. Some top shareholders indicated they had voiced concerns to the management, questioning its ability to secure 75% of votes to wave through the move. “They should be nervous,” said one. (The Times £)

Unilever is also facing an investor backlash at its annual meeting next month over millions of pounds in bonuses handed to its top two executives. The advisory service run by the Investment Association (IA)‎, the fund managers’ body, has issued a “red-top” warning in relation to Unilever’s remuneration report. (Sky News, The Times £)

Clipper Teas, the UK’s longest-established Fairtrade tea brand, has become the latest to spurn synthetic sealants in its teabags to reduce plastic pollution, The Observer reported on Sunday. It hopes to be polypropylene free by the summer. Campaigning organisation 38 Degrees has called on other brands to do the same with a new national petition that has attracted more than 125,000 signatures.

Visa’s consumer spending index shows spending has fallen 1.4% since the final quarter of 2012 – the largest amount in almost six year, reports The Times (£). Spending on food and drink, however, grew 5.7% in March. The Guardian notes an overall 2% dip in consumer spending last month. Annabel Fiddes, principal economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the research with Visa, said the outlook remained difficult.

Retailers were responsible for a fifth of all profit warnings during first quarter, according to EY, The Times (£). Warnings in the sector reached a seven-year high. The Daily Telegraph reports that 15 major retailers or restaurant groups have either applied for Company Voluntary Arrangements, or gone into administration in the past 12 months, according to research from Colliers International.

 A Which? investigation into supermarket own-brand pesto has found that bamboo fibres, potato flakes and nut flour are being used as cheaper alternatives to traditional ingredients, The Guardian and The Independent reported on Saturday.

Japan’s second-biggest convenience, or konbini, store chain plans to open 300 Fit & Go gymnasiums over the next five years, reports the Financial Times (£).

Animal rights group are calling on Canberra to ban the export of live animals to the Middle East after secret footage on conditions on board the Awassi Express that showed sheep too weak to stand, gasping from heat exhaustion and covered in their own excrement emerged. The footage of the dying sheep has thrown the Australian live-export industry into crisis. The Financial Times (£) says the scandal comes as the UK considers banning live exports to raise animal welfare standards as it leaves the European Union.

Boxpark is poised to open its third outlet, in Wembley, reports The Daily Telegraph. It has plans to grow to 12 sites by 2023 with another in London and eight in regional cities. It also wants to target international markets through a licence arrangement.

Lord Marland, chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, has warned it would be a “dereliction of duty” if Britain failed to boost exports to member states and persuade them to formally commit to free trade, reports The Times (£).

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