Numerous paperz are this morning covering the news that Tesco will be closing its non-food website Tesco Direct, putting around 500 jobs at risk (The Guardian, The Times £). The Telegraph writes that the supermarket has “admitted defeat against Amazon” by closing the e-commerce site that launched in 2006.
The Financial Times (£) says the move is another sign of a “tighter focus on food” and less emphasis on side projects initiated by the company’s previous management.
Staff at Sainsbury’s have lashed out at bosses pushing ahead with a £14.1billion merger with Asda while cutting pay for thousands of employees and overhauling working conditions, writes the Daily Mail. Employees have accused the supermarket of forcing them to ‘sign or resign’ over contracts that will see paid breaks scrapped, additional pay for working Sundays cut and night shift overtime rates slashed.
Costa Coffee is being circled by a clutch of private equity firms hoping to snap up the chain in a potential £3bn bidding war (Daily Mail). Costa’s owner, Whitbread, which plans to split the chain off from the group and list it as a separate entity, has been approached informally over a potential buyout.
Marks and Spencer’s decision to close another 14 stores, to make 100 overall closures, “may not be bold enough” writes Nils Pratley in The Guardian.
Altria is hoping to light a fire under its efforts to diversify away from traditional tobacco products, announcing on Tuesday that it was creating two new divisions — one for “core” tobacco like cigarettes, and a separate unit for “innovative” products like vaping devices, as smokers increasingly seek out less harmful options (Financial Times (£)).
Sales at John Lewis fell 6.3 per cent last week as shoppers stayed outside, but its Waitrose chain saw a 3.3 per cent boost as people stocked up on champagne for the royal wedding, reports the Daily Mail.
The food industry has failed to hit its target of cutting sugar by 5% over the past year, with experts describing the results as “hugely disappointing” and suggesting the government may be forced to introduce a tax, as with sugary drinks (The Guardian). In a massive new report, PHE shows food manufacturers and supermarkets have cut out 2% over the first 12 months, but much more has been achieved in some areas and by some companies than others.
SoftBank has confirmed it will sell its almost 20% stake in Indian Online retailer Flipkart to Walmart (Financial Times).
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