Sainsbury has indicated to some investors that it could sell about 70 of its 535 stores. The supermarket told the Mail on Sunday that the proposal was in its early days and was part of a plan to replace poorly performing stores with sites in better locations.
Meanwhile, the paper added that Sainsbury was playing down rumours that its founding family wanted to sell part of its stake in the supermarket group.

Waitrose has seen a 16% increase in meat sales over the past year as Britons go for the steak and sausages demanded by the Atkins diet. The Sunday Times reported that both Tesco and Safeway had also seen higher sales of meat.

Tesco has been expelled from the 95+ Group - an ethical trading initiative run by the conservation charity WWF UK - for refusing to give written assurances that it would stop using illegally felled wood from rainforests.
The Independent on Sunday reported that the supermarket has sold hardwood garden furniture made from logs that were illegally exported from Indonesia, breaching a ban imposed by the Indonesian government in October 2001.