Face coverings will become mandatory in shops and supermarkets with fines of up to £100 for anyone who fails to adhere to the new rules, the Government will announce on today (The Telegraph). Face masks will become mandatory in shops across England, ministers are to announce on Tuesday, following mixed messages, a cabinet split and mounting pressure on Boris Johnson to change public advice (The Guardian). Enforcement will be carried out by police - not retail staff - and anyone failing to wear a face covering while shopping will be subject to a fine of up to £100 (Sky News). The move will bring England into line with Scotland and other major European nations like Spain, Italy and Germany (The BBC).

UK retail sales returned to growth in June, boosted by online, food and furniture spending, indicating that pent-up demand from the Covid-19 lockdown could help struggling stores as they reopen (The Financial Times £). Shoppers are coming back to the high street but the retail sector is still struggling to return to normal, according to the British Retail Consortium (The Times £). Retail sales in Britain rebounded in June as warmer weather and the easing of lockdown measures encouraged shoppers back to the high street (The Guardian). Total retail spending is higher than last June, although much of the benefit is going to online merchants rather than high street stores (The Telegraph). Demand for home comforts and remote working equipment helped retailers see their biggest monthly sales jump in more than two years in June (The BBC).

Ocado, the online supermarket and grocery logistics group, has begun hunting for a successor to Lord Rose of Monewden, the retail veteran who has been its chairman since 2013 (Sky News). Ocado Group has begun the search for a successor to Lord Rose of Monewden, the retail veteran who has been its chairman since 2013 (The Times £).

Britain’s largest supermarket chains could be hit with billions in extra costs if Asda loses its battle over equal pay in the Supreme Court this week. (The Times £)

Consumers are still grazing on snacks between meals even as lockdown restrictions ease, but demand for fizzy drinks in bars and restaurants is picking up only gradually, according to results from PepsiCo (The Financial Times £). Pepsico reported a fall in quarterly revenues and declined to provide full-year guidance but said it would maintain both dividends and share buybacks (The Times £).

Scotch distillers have accused ministers of pursuing a “misguided” strategy by leaving Brussels to negotiate the removal of American whisky tariffs, saying that they face “serious and irreparable damage” without an urgent resolution. (The Times £)

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