French supermarket giant Casino has signed a distribution deal with Amazon which will see groceries from its upmarket Monoprix brand made available to Prime Now customers, reports the Financial Times (£). The service will be available to customers in Paris and the surrounding region when it is launched this year.
Sky News says it understands Conviviality will draft in company doctor Brian Lochead, a partner in PwC’s business recovery services practice as part of its emergency turnaround plan. Lombard, in the Financial Times (£), is watching the Conviviality clock and reminds us the beleaguered booze business has just a couple of days left to raise £125m to settle a £39m tax bill, pay creditors and provide desperately needed working capital. The comment piece asks what Conviviality, “a befuddled bargain booze seller”, Accrol, “a caught-short loo-roll maker” and Purplebricks, “a disruptive young estate agent have in common?” Zeus Capital brought them all to market “apart from all featuring on the dinner party seating plan from hell,” it says.
China and America have cooled the rhetoric somewhat after threatening each other with billions of dollars of import levies last week, including on farm products, such as pork (The Times £). China vowed to give equal treatment to foreign and domestic businesses, reports The Daily Mail. World shares rally as Trump trade war fears ease, Sky News concurs.
Elsewhere, change is so fast and furious at Marks & Spencer that it is hard to keep up, says The Daily Mail. It says unless the retailer comes up with a slicker, more compelling online shopping experience, and fast, it will remain stuck in the starter blocks. The comment comes as M&S overhauls its clothing management team. Belinda Earl, former chief executive of Debenhams and Jaeger, is among those stepping down from posts at the retailer, reports The Daily Telegraph. It follows the ousting of food boss Andy Adcock last week to make way for industry veteran Stuart Machin.
Heineken has withdrawn its TV ad showing a bartender slide a bottle of low-calorie, reduced alcohol beer past three black people before it stops at the hand of a lighter skinned woman. The tagline reads “Sometimes lighter is better”. The Daily Telegraph says the brewer admitted it “missed the mark”.
Nestle has claimed a world first, by harnessing science to reduce the sugar in chocolate The Guardian. It is producing a new “structured sugar” in its Dalston, Cumbria factory, to create a white chocolate bar with 30% less sugar than its usual Milkybar brand. The new products in which it uses the new sugar is Milkybar Woswomes. A business video on Reuters claims Nestle’s new sugar formula might salvage obesity scrutiny.
Craft brewer BrewDog has bought the Draft House chain of 14 pubs in London and the South East – its first major acquisition The Daily Telegraph.
No comments yet