Cheetham Hill in north Manchester was once known as the “counterfeit capital of Europe”. Local residents spoke of neglect and sustained harassment from the lookouts who lurked outside illegal stores, and from the associated drugs and exploitation. 

Then, in 2022, Greater Manchester Police launched Operation Vulcan. More than 200 shops were shut down, with 1,000 tonnes of items and £520k in cash seized. Violent crime and public order offences fell by 50%. 

The problems in Cheetham Hill are replicated across the country. A 2025 Ipsos poll found that almost a third of people limited how often they visited their high street because of crime and antisocial behaviour. This is what organised crime looks like once it has taken hold in a community – and, as our cover feature this week warns, it is a situation that is playing out on high streets across the country.

My picks this week

  1. Dave Lewis was tight-lipped when asked about the scale of job losses at Diageo earlier this month, but we now know it shed nearly 2,000 jobs last year, equivalent to a 6.4% reduction in the size of its workforce. But Drastic Dave isn’t stopping there: with 90% of Diageo markets set to have a new operating model in place by September, more cuts look inevitable. 
  2. A big week for Asda, as it enters the independent convenience market. Joseph Sutton, Asda Express, fuel and wholesale director, discusses what retailers it is looking for and what exactly the proposition entails.
  3. It’s been an unusually busy week for the dog days of summer in terms of M&A. Lactalis surprised the dairy market with the near £1bn acquisition of the Saputo UK dairy business; Sazerac pounced for disruptive spirits brand Au Vodka; Pilgrim’s Europe agreed to buy Walkers Deli & Sausage Company from Samworth Brothers; Ferrero swooped for US health & wellness breakfast brand Purely Elizabeth; and Cawston Press expanded its functional non-alcoholic offering once again with the takeover of LA Brewery.  
  4. More deals are going through too, with the CMA clearing Danone’s billion-euro takeover of Huel and resolving its investigation into Vandemoortele nearly seven weeks early by ruling it must sell off its Worcester factory. No monopoly in in-store baked croissants, then.  
  5. Potato farmers have said there will be smaller chips, crisps and baking potatoes this year due to the extreme weather. Leading supplier Albert Bartlett says some growers have had to apply double their usual amount of water just to keep crops alive, with one grower describing irrigation as ”like pouring water on a dead corpse”. 
  6. After months of negotiations, the Welsh government has finally appointed industry body Exchange for Change to run its deposit return scheme. It’s a move supporters hope will salvage the chances of an October 2027 UK-wide launch going ahead, with the body earlier having to defend claims that the scheme was facing “collapse”.  
  7. Are there signs that Asda’s turnaround plan is finally having an impact? In our exclusive interview, chief customer and data officer Rachel Eyre looks back on her work to bring back ‘Asdaness’, which is on display at its Hereford store – our G33 store winner.  
  8. Aldi’s chief Giles Hurley and Which? may not like loyalty discounts, but when it comes to consumer preferences the latest Worldpanel data tells very a different story.  
  9. Brits are crazy about pizza – it’s the most-ordered takeaway in the UK. But grocery pizza brands are stealing share from restaurants and takeaways as leading chains shut sites. Take-home value sales of pizza have risen 6.6% to £1.5bn on volumes up 1.8% as the distinction between branded grocery pizza and takeaways “becomes more blurred”. 
  10. From a Candy Kittens-flavoured Little Moons mochi to Higgidy and Thatchers’ cider chicken pie, brand collaborations have come thick and fast in the past week or so. What are the benefits and possible pitfalls of joining forces and what does a good tie-up look like?  

Thanks for reading. We’re always keen to hear your thoughts, so please do email with any questions, comments or feedback on sarah.vizard@thegrocer.co.uk.

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