The chief executive of Nestlé said feeding ageing populations had become a major priority as the world’s largest food company and infant formula pioneer reckons with dwindling birth rates around the globe. (The Financial Times £)
Supermarkets made the most of a brief period of warm spring weather as people stocked with ice cream and cider. (The Times £)
When Ocado entered the FTSE 100 six years ago, it was seen as a flag-bearer for changing consumer tastes, as traditional retailer Marks & Spencer narrowly avoided relegation from the top tier on the same day. This week, those roles look set to be reversed, with M&S riding high and Ocado now expected to drop out of the index of the UK’s top companies in the quarterly reshuffle. (The Guardian)
City still waits for Ocado to deliver on its promise. “The pandemic didn’t turn out to be the blessing that company executives and stock market investors first thought. Ocado, limited by the number of its fulfilment centres, could not keep up with demand and so watched on helplessly as customers went elsewhere.” (The Times £)
The turnaround at Marks & Spencer has been sharp. Since Stuart Machin was appointed by chairman Archie Norman the share price has more than doubled, M&S has been restored to the FTSE 100 and won back investors in the City of London who had grown weary of its broken promises. Machin, who is keenly aware of M&S’s recent past, doesn’t seem too keen on the chest-thumping display. (The Telegraph £)
Scampi is sourced in a way that causes “extensive environmental damage”, a charity complaining to the UK competitions authority has claimed. (The BBC)
The largest investor in Associated British Foods has received £262m after cashing in a chunk of shares. (The Times £)
More than $2bn has been wiped from the fortune of the tycoon behind the American pharmacy chain that owns Boots after a year-long plunge in the company’s share price. (The Times £)
Sainsbury’s has fixed a glitch with its payment system which affected some same-day deliveries and shop purchases. The UK’s second largest supermarket said the issue had been intermittent since Thursday morning but has now been entirely resolved. (The BBC)
Revolution Bars has called time on its formal sales process in efforts to move ahead with its restructuring plans, warning its creditors the group faces administration if they do not back the strategy. (The Daily Mail)
High streets across the UK are struggling with an epidemic of stealing. What’s behind this sudden crime wave and can anything be done to stop it? (The Guardian)
The no-frills retailer Costco Wholesale has emerged as one of the big winners of the US inflation wave, drawing in millions of consumers willing to pay at least $60 a year to gain access to member-only warehouses stocked with bargain-priced produce, paper towels, appliances and $5 rotisserie chickens. (The Financial Times £)
With drinks companies trading at record lows compared with their stock of gently ageing cognacs, brandies, tequilas and champagnes, this is yet another indication that the sector may be oversold. (The Financial Times £)
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