Are Ocado and M&S running out of road, asks The Times? M&S believes the underwhelming performance of Ocado Retail means that it owes Ocado nothing. Steiner firmly disagrees and last week, alongside Ocado’s financial results, he declared himself willing to take M&S to court if the two companies cannot agree on a settlement. (The Times £)

Ocado has failed to deliver for M&S customers, writes The Telegraph’s Ben Marlow. It’s a measure of how low the bar is set at Ocado these days that a stonking near-£400m annual loss at the online grocer counts as “good progress” in the eyes of its evangelical founder and chief executive, Tim Steiner. (Telegraph £)

Ocado risks another clash with investors over executive pay after the online grocery delivery business proposed a bonus share award for its boss potentially worth as much as £14.8m. (The Times £)

Mohsin Issa, one half of the so-called “billionaire brothers” who own Asda, says he plans to hand over the running of the UK’s third biggest supermarket. In his first broadcast interview, the entrepreneur told the BBC he was carrying out a “reset” at the grocer before appointing a chief executive. (BBC)

Chocolate hell as traders milk cocoa supply shortage – over the past year, a new crop of traders have piled into cocoa markets, amplifying the impact of an acute ­supply shortage. Cocoa prices touched a 40-year high this month. It is a rise that has been more dramatic than any other commodity in the past 12 months and one that promises to hit chocolate lovers in the pocket later this year. (The Times £)

With Easter less than a month away, sweet-toothed consumers in Europe and North America are beginning to turn their thoughts towards chocolate. But prices this year are expected to be higher than ever — and it is very little to do with existing inflationary pressures in the market. (Financial Times £)

Administrators to The Body Shop are closing dozens of stores despite them being profitable (The Times £).

Administrators of The Body Shop are investigating claims that millions of pounds were taken out of the business before its collapse. (Telegraph £)

How The Body Shop’s new owner swiftly sold assets to its go-to fixer. Aurelius offloaded much of beauty brand’s global operations to German businessman who has worked with firm for years. (Financial Times £)

Marks and Spencer has won a legal challenge in the High Court against Michael Gove’s decision to stop the retailer from knocking down its Art Deco flagship store on London’s Oxford Street (Financial Times £). In a keenly awaited judgment, the retailer has scored a High Court win over Michael Gove in the battle to redevelop its Marble Arch store (The Times £). Marks & Spencer has won a crucial legal victory against Michael Gove in the battle over the multi-million pound redevelopment of its Marble Arch store (Telegraph £). Marks & Spencer has claimed victory after Michael Gove’s decision to block a controversial plan to raze and redevelop its main store on London’s Oxford Street was ruled to be unlawful (The Guardian). In a victory for the High Street favourite as it seeks to redevelop the site, a judge ruled the Housing Secretary’s decision was unlawful (Daily Mail).

Retailers are suffering from the longest slump in sales since the pandemic, as shoppers cut back for the fifth successive month. (Telegraph £)

Top consumer brands are looking to boost growth through better advertising and a return to dealmaking as the sector runs out of road on raising prices, with shoppers weary of soaring bills and many defecting to cheaper alternatives. (Financial Times £)

Big tobacco faces a renewed attempt to stub out smoking when Jeremy Hunt takes to the dispatch box in the Commons to deliver his budget on Wednesday. (The Times £)

Meet the 21st Century entrepreneurs from Blackburn cashing in on vaping craze – Blackburn and the neighbouring town of Darwen are also home to some of Britain’s richest vaping barons. (Daily Mail)

Bosses at Britain’s last independent haulier have ditched plans to sell to a French suitor and are instead backing a takeover by the Americans. (Daily Mail)

With 15% year-on-year growth, popcorn brand Joe & Sephs has an ambition is to double turnover in the next few years fuelled by the company’s first external investment. (The Times £)

It is not every day that a judge quotes Winnie-the-Pooh. But this week, one made the return to the Hundred Acre Wood when delivering an extraordinary judgment over what constituted “raw honey” (The Guardian). The FT’s Alphaville goes into detail on the dispute between Waltham Forest trading standards and the firm Odysea (Financial Times £).

Theft and violence against workers in convenience stores across Britain have soared to record levels, according to new data. (Financial Times £)

AB In Bev said that its growth had been ‘constrained’ after a huge boycott of its beers following a controversy with a transgender model. (Daily Mail)

How Suntory Beverage and Food’s Makiko Ono became one of Japan’s few female CEOs. Last year, Ono became one of Japan’s few female chief executives when she was elevated to the top position at Suntory Beverage & Food, a listed unit of the drinks conglomerate. (Financial Times £)

Topics