Marks & Spencer was in the spotlight over the weekend after making two management appointments in a bid to get the business back on track.

The Financial Times Lex column is headlined ‘the Norman Conquest’ in honour of the appointment of retail veteran Archie Norman as non-executive chairman, which followed the poaching of Halfords CEO Jill McDonald to run the ailing clothing division. The paper says the presence of a divisional manager below means CEO Steve Rowe would be less tainted, with a high-profile chairman above potentially giving him the air cover needed for more radical restructuring. A separate article on Saturday in The Financial Times writes that M&S investors have pinned their hopes on “turnround specialist” Archie Norman, with the new chairman stoking optimism with his ability to unleash growth in fading businesses.

The Times writes that the appointment of Norman at M&S was “better late than never” after the retailer first approached the former Asda boss more than 13 years ago. The Observer says M&S has put its faith in a “fashion novice” from Halfords and a “retail veteran”. The Telegraph asks ‘could this be the start of M&S’s rebirth?’. Jeremy Warner says in his opinion piece that “hope springs eternal”. He also notes that few non-executive appointments have any effect on the share price, “so Archie Norman ought to be flattered by the response to his nomination as chairman of Marks & Spencer”.

Tesco UK CEO Matt Davies tells The Mail on Sunday in an interview that his own health scare spurred a drive to make Tesco a healthier place to shop, with a firm focus on lowering sugar.

An interview in The Sunday Times with former Waitrose boss Mark Price says the Chubby Grocer is now sold on Brexit. The ‘remainer’ hopes to be doing trade deals in a new government.

The ‘big read’ in The Financial Times examines the “lean, mean” approach of 3G Capital. It writes that bold acquisitions and aggressive cost cuts have transformed the beer and food industries but the paper asks at what price. Berkshire Hathaway’s failure to invest in Google was among the worst mistakes that the company has made and its chairman Warren Buffett admitted he was “too dumb” to realise that he should have taken a stake in Amazon (The Times).

Former Just Eat chief executive David Buttress will announce a speedy return to corporate life today as a partner of one of the takeaway delivery company’s former venture capital backers, 83North, formerly known as Greylock IL, according to The Times this morning.

Brexit could see the price of a pint falling by more than 20p if Britain seizes the opportunity to lift costly EU regulations on pubs, The Campaign for Real Ale claims (The Mail).

After a quarter of a century importing fine foods, one London retailer is worried about the future, according to an article by The Times this morning headlined “Cheesed off by Brexit and left with a trade mountain to climb”.

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