Supermarket chains are suffering a lockdown hangover after last month’s panic-buying was followed by a sudden fall in sales over the past fortnight. Two senior sources said the easing of stockpiling and stringent social distancing measures have led to a dip in sales at large stores run by Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. (The Daily Mail)
Bumper March and Easter may not be enough to secure supermarket profit boost. If Tesco is anything to go by, recent numbers suggest that business during the coronavirus crisis has not been as rosy as expected. (The Telegraph)
‘We have changed more in a few weeks than in ten years’, says Tesco boss Dave Lewis as supermarket battles to feed the nation. The pandemic, he admits, has put ‘lots of pressure and difficulty on the system, but I have seen more humanity and consideration and care than any other time in my career. How do I feel? The word I’m looking for is humbled.’ (The Daily Mail)
Panic buying is a social injustice, says boss of Iceland Richard Walker. Iceland’s stores have been ransacked by stockpilers, two of its delivery vans have been torched by arsonists, slots for online grocery deliveries have taken on mythical status and there are daily queues outside supermarkets. (The Times £)
Otherwise healthy people should not be clogging up supermarket home delivery services which are being prioritised for the vulnerable, retailers have said. (The Telegraph)
Those at the top of the supermarket industry risk squandering the goodwill generated by the coronavirus response. A bailout package meant to prop up businesses facing closure is filling the supermarkets’ coffers even as they enjoy record sales. (The Times £)
The Co-op hopes to raise £30m to help those hardest hit by the coronavirus lockdown by allowing members to donate their unspent shopping reward points to a new support fund which will also draw on the chief executive’s salary. (The Guardian)
Businesses are still waiting for emergency grants worth about £10 billion as the government faces a “crunch week” for its coronavirus support package for small companies (The Times £). Bungled bank coronavirus loans leave small firms on the brink. Despite the chancellor’s promises, desperate entrepreneurs are being starved of cash (The Times £).
Ministers are this weekend preparing to overhaul an emergency loan programme for larger companies whose future has been put at risk of collapse by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Sky News)
After hiring 100,000 extra staff in less than a month to handle coronavirus-induced demand, Amazon on Monday said it would hire 75,000 more, bucking the trend of mass job cuts in the US economy even as the online retailer’s infrastructure shows signs of severe strain (The Financial Times £). Online retailing giant Amazon has urged US workers who’ve lost jobs because of the coronavirus slowdown to apply for as many as 75,000 jobs it is offering (The BBC).
Amazon has batted off criticism over whether its warehouse workers are being put at risk of contracting Covid-19, saying it has been asked to continue operating by the Government. (The Telegraph)
Some of Britain’s best-known listed companies could be vulnerable to takeover bids from private equity investors because of the impact of coronavirus, City analysts have suggested. A team of analysts at Quest, a division of Canaccord Genuity, have named Pets at Home and Finsbury Food Group amongst the potential targets. (The Times £)
British American Tobacco is under criminal investigation by regulators in the United States over suspected sanctions-busting. (The Times £)
The World Health Organisation has warned governments about engaging with the tobacco industry over the development of coronavirus vaccines. (The Times £)
John Lewis boss Sharon White’s hands-on approach is a far cry from the style of Sir Charlie Mayfield, whom she replaced in February. Tensions have surfaced between the two after Mayfield’s botched restructuring bequeathed White a business bereft of experienced leadership. (The Times £)
Pharmacies are calling for government funding within weeks as they work “flat out” to meet surging demand. Industry leaders say that chemists require extra money to cover exceptional costs. (The Times £)
Workers at restaurant chain Carluccio’s will be furloughed after a landmark legal ruling. The firm went into administration last month, casting doubt over the eligibility of its 2,000 employees. (The Daily Mail)
Landlords are set to begin legal proceedings against retailers including Boots and Poundstretcher for refusing to pay rent despite staying open during the coronavirus lockdown (The Financial Times £). Lawyers have called for a break on winding-up petitions against retailers as they fail to pay creditors due to the outbreak (The Telegraph).
The coronavirus lockdown has taken a cut out of the Easter lamb market. The pandemic has disrupted the usual routes from farm to fork, putting livelihoods in danger. (The Financial Times £)
UK takeaway deliveries are on the rise as cooking fatigue sets in. Food delivery apps have a new ally as they fight for business in an economy laid low by coronavirus: boredom. (The Financial Times £)
Forecourts giant Motor Fuel Group accused of exploiting managers. (The Times £)
Researchers say the economic costs of a deadly pathogen affecting olive trees in Europe could run to over €20 billion. (The BBC)
Pubs are struggling to dispose of millions of pints of stale beer left on their premises as the UK entered lockdown, a problem that could delay reopening after the pandemic (The Financial Times £). Fifty million pints of beer is expected to go unused in barrels if pubs remain closed into the summer because of coronavirus. Publicans are currently unable to sell their lagers, ales and ciders - save for takeaways and home deliveries (The BBC).
The Guardian writes about the ‘crisis in Chablis’. Wine growers have been hit by frost, drought and now coronavirus, which has dashed the hopes of winemakers in Burgundy. (The Guardian)
Coronavirus lockdowns in India and Kenya are threatening global tea supplies, with traders racing to secure stocks. (The Financial Times £)
Naspers, the South African ecommerce group, is hunting for acquisitions as it bets that a boost in consumer demand for online services such as food delivery during the pandemic will outlast the lockdown crisis. (The Financial Times £)
Luckin Coffee’s implosion has shattered the faith of some international investors when it comes to Chinese companies listed on the world’s biggest stock exchange. (The Financial Times £)
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