A ban on Sunday trading and intense competition have prompted Tesco to close stores in one of its key overseas markets. Britain’s biggest supermarket chain plans to shut 13 loss-making stores in Poland, putting about 2,200 jobs at risk. (The Times £)

The cost of basic foodstuffs could be about to rocket as Europe’s recent heatwave pushes up the price of everything from carrots and strawberries to butter and bacon. (The Times £)

Tesco has cleared its shelves of Tetley tea ranges as it ploughs ahead with promoting its own-label produce and trendier brands. Tetley, which traces its roots back to 1822 in Huddersfield and is owned by Indian group Tata, has seen around 16 lines axed from Tesco’s shelves. (The Daily Mail)

Could the Asda-Sainsbury merger lead to higher prices, worse service and squeezed suppliers? Three times Yes, says Alex Brummer in The Daily Mail. “As pledged, there may well be lower prices on a basket of goods in the aftermath of the merger but over the longer haul taking out a major player in the market can only increase the pricing power of those left.” (The Daily Mail)

Metro shares rallied almost 12% on Monday after interest from Czech-Slovak investor EP sparked hopes of a full-blown takeover in the German retailer. Ceconomy, which was spun out of Metro in 2016, said on Monday it was in talks with EP about a potential sale of a 9% stake in Metro. Ceconomy holds just under a tenth of Metro. (The Financial Times £)

VAT laws should be reformed to create a two-tier system for online and physical retailers in an attempt to save the country’s dying high streets. As calls grow for an “Amazon tax” on online retailers, one of Britain’s largest property consultancies has argued that an overhaul of the VAT regime would be a more effective way of saving shops. (The Times £)

The Times (£) looks at how Whole Foods has helped Amazon sink teeth into $800bn market and how the dominant force in online retail bought its way into the hard-to-crack groceries business. “Amazon is already in a good position to capitalise on the online US grocery boom: it controls about 18 per cent of the online grocery market, twice that of its nearest rival, according to One Click Retail, a market researcher.”

Amazon will overtake Apple to become the world’s largest public company because it has “reinvented shopping”, Sir Terry Leahy, the former boss of Tesco, has predicted. However, the ecommerce giant will struggle to dominate the grocery industry in the UK because of intense competition between supermarkets and can expect more success in the US. (The Times £)

The swelling influence of online retailers is changing the way inflation behaves by making it more sensitive to one-off shocks such as jumps in the price of oil, currency swings or the imposition of tariffs, according to new research. (The Financial Times £)

Procter & Gamble is targeting millennials by launching soaps, air fresheners and detergents called LOL and WTF. The consumer goods giant, which owns Pampers, Fairy Liquid and Lenor, has reportedly applied to trademark the phrases commonly used in social media. (The Daily Mail)

The UK boss of Philip Morris tells the Daily Mail he wishes he could stop selling cigarettes tomorrow as the tobacco giant launches bold campaign to get people switching to IQOS devices. iQos is “the I phone of our industry” boasts UK managing director of Philip Morris, Peter Nixon. (The Daily Mail)

The future of Homebase is hanging in the balance as a group of powerful landlords considers legal action over an attempt to slash its rents by as much as 90% (The Times £). Landlords could sue Homebase as the DIY chain tries to slash rents by up to 90 per cent (The Daily Mail).

The new owner of ailing DIY chain Homebase faces a tough battle to get the retailer back on its feet after newly-released documents revealed 70pc of its 241 stores were making a loss (The Telegraph).

Food giant Heinz has been hit with a $2.25m fine in the US for misleading consumers by claiming one of its snacks, marketed for toddlers, was beneficial for young children. (The Guardian)

Britain’s longest heatwave since 1976 has seen ice-cream sales soar, but a survey has revealed that some brands are sold without vanilla, cream or fresh milk. (The Guardian)

Campaigners trying to protect global fish stocks say an EU proposal to fund fishing boats in the fleets of Europe’s outermost regions breaks the bloc’s international commitments and will lead to overexploitation. (The Financial Times £)

The leisure industry received a welcome summer boost as bars, restaurants and hotels recorded a pick-up in business in the most recent quarter. (The Times £)

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