Tesco’s chief executive has called for a change in the law to make abuse or violence towards retail workers an offence across the UK (The Guardian). Frontline Tesco workers will be offered body cameras following an “unacceptable” spike in verbal and physical attacks (Sky News). Frontline workers across Tesco’s stores will be offered bodycams to combat the rise in violent attacks on its staff (Telegraph). The company has seen physical assaults increase by a third since last year (BBC).

We cannot go on like this… all our staff deserve to be safe at work, writes Tesco Chief Executive Ken Murphy in The Mail. “Over the last couple of years, these unsung heroes are being made to feel less safe by the actions of some people: customers who will be verbally and physically abusive, or who will threaten and attack them when challenged.” (Daily Mail)

The Mail’s Ruth Sutherland writes: “Retail workers were among the unsung heroes of the pandemic, making sure the nation was fed. Some store chains want assaults on their staff to be designated a specific offence. This would act as a deterrent and make it easier to collect robust data on the extent of the problem. The Government and police forces need to treat it with the seriousness it deserves.” (Daily Mail)

Honest shoppers are increasingly having their bags checked at supermarkets amid a fast-growing epidemic of shoplifting. Sainsbury’s and Morrisons have both introduced gates after the self-scan tills at some of their stores. (Telegraph)

Administrators to discount chain Wilko have won the backing of creditors for a rescue deal led by HMV tycoon Doug Putman that could save about 8,000 jobs (The Times £).The owner of HMV is edging closer to a deal to buy collapsed discounter Wilko, saving thousands of jobs and the majority of shops (BBC).

EY, the auditor of collapsed retail chain Wilko, is facing a backlash for its oversight of the group after signing off its accounts despite the firm having warned that it did not have enough funds to cope with a sharp drop in sales. (Daily Mail)

The farce surrounding Wilko has shone a spotlight on the way in which sales of collapsed companies can descend into a free-for-all including charlatans and chancers. (Daily Mail)

There are very few other fields of business where such big calls are made on jobs and money with so little scrutiny of potential conflicts, writes Oliver Shah in The Times. “All insolvency processes would benefit from proper oversight — perhaps from a new regulator. In this everyone-for-themselves twilight world, parties with deep pockets can afford to protect their own interests. It’s the ones who can’t — staff, pensioners and suppliers — who tend to get screwed.” (The Times £)

MPs have raised concerns that Asda’s ownership structure could be limiting the supermarket’s ability to support shoppers through the cost of living crisis. (The Guardian)

Retail casualties, including those of Wilko and Paperchase, and the closures of about 6,000 store sites in the past five years have prompted the industry to revive its campaign to reform the “crippling” business rates system. (The Times £)

A French pastry maker will be forced to sell off a rival business after a judge upheld the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision to block the deal. Cérélia acquired Jus-Rol from General Mills in January last year. However, the CMA moved to block the deal in January this year. (The Times £)

The boss of posh burger chain Five Guys has said the family-owned American group wants to double the number of UK restaurants in the next few years to 300. (Daily Mail)

Aldi has been on a shopping spree in the US. Earlier this month it announced it would buy the Winn-Dixie and Harveys supermarket chains, expanding in a market where big stores still reign supreme. With its takeover of Southeastern Grocers, which owns Winn-Dixie and Harveys, it is moving into more conventional supermarket territory. (Financial Times £)

John Lewis faces “extreme challenges” in making a paper profit on its flagship housing scheme, its advisers have warned. (Telegraph)

John Lewis’s efforts to raise £150 million by selling a chunk of its Oxford Street flagship have been delayed amid turmoil in the broader commercial property industry. (The Times £)

Rosalind Brewer has abruptly stepped down as chief executive of Walgreens Boots Alliance after two and a half years when the US-listed pharmacy group’s valuation halved and the group abandoned a planned sale of its UK retail chain. (Financial Times £)

Marks & Spencer has added Estée Lauder Fragrance to its growing roster of third-party brands amid attempts to attract new customers. (The Times £)

Four years ago the venerable retailer fell out of the FTSE 100, suffering a humiliating blow to its prestige. But now it has turned things around. The Observer looks at how frumpy Marks & Spencer became fashionable again. (The Guardian)

Amid brewing industry turbulence, a little-known private equity firm has seized on the insolvencies to start building an empire out of bust beer businesses. London-based Breal Capital first made its presence known in the beer industry when it bought collapsed Yorkshire brewer Black Sheep Brewery out of administration in May. (Telegraph)

Health experts have ramped up calls to improve the national diet in the wake of research that paints a worrying picture of the harms linked to the consumption of ultra-processed food. (The Guardian)

Ultra-processed foods have been having a bad week, writes Tim Hayward in the FT. Or more to the point, all those people out there gleefully ultra-processing food or investing in the companies that do, have been having an awful couple of years. Everybody’s down on UPFs, from TV chefs and medics to MPs. It’s the bogeyman of the day. But UPFs aren’t primarily a problem of nutrition, but a matter, first, of language and then of politics. (Financial Times £)

Instead of pursuing shoplifters, the big supermarkets should use their record profits to prevent food waste, writes Drew Rooke in The Observer. “It’s reprehensible during a cost-of-living crisis to dump binloads of groceries and enforce strict cosmetic standards on produce”. (The Guardian)

After ten years the marriage between Sean “Diddy” Combs and Diageo has hit the rocks and on Thursday it is set to reach New York’s Supreme Court. Combs sued Diageo in May, alleging breach of the terms of the contract into which they had entered. (The Times £)

Against early-pandemic levels, Pret A Manger sandwiches and baguettes are more expensive by approximately 50 to 75%, FT data shows. Drinks, fruit and brownies have nearly doubled in price. “Pret’s recent pricing strategy strongly suggests that it’s been prioritising margin over volume.” (Financial Times £)

Erratic climate conditions - including the driest August in more than a century - have sent food prices spiralling above 11% in India, which is a major player in global agri-trade. Just as tomato prices begin cooling down, onions have gotten dearer by a quarter since June in the domestic market. And pulses which go into making the humble dal (lentil soup) are now around 20% more expensive than at the beginning of the year. (BBC)

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