John Lewis is slashing the size of its central London headquarters by more than half, after thousands of staff left their desks to work from home (Telegraph £). The partnership behind John Lewis and Waitrose is looking to cut the size of its headquarters by more than half (The Times £). John Lewis Partnership is halving the size of its headquarters after thousands of employees switched to working from home (Daily Mail).
The newly appointed boss of John Lewis has warned that the department store and grocery group is “fundamentally not producing sufficient profit” as a confidence vote in the chair’s leadership and revival plan approaches next month. (Financial Times £)
Grocery inflation hit a new high in Britain last month with items such as coffee and ready meals going up because of raw material and packaging costs, further straining household budgets (The Times £). Food inflation hits another record high as pressure mounts on home finances (Sky News). Food prices in the UK continued to soar in April despite a drop in wholesale costs (BBC).
Shoppers and retailers in Europe are less willing than their US counterparts to pay higher prices for a range of consumer goods, according to industry executives, analysts and economists. Figures from companies including Unilever and Procter & Gamble showed sales volumes in Europe last quarter were weaker than in the US. (Financial Times £)
Britain’s biggest supermarkets are facing calls for the UK’s competition watchdog to investigate claims of profiteering amid the cost of living crisis, as industry figures show food price inflation soared to a record high in April. (The Guardian)
After a string of trading updates that showed consumer goods companies are enjoying double-digit sales growth and profit margins, questions are being asked over whether the companies behind the products are taking their share of the pain of food inflation. (The Times £)
A double glazing tycoon who is one of Britain’s richest men has snapped up a £37million stake in beleaguered online retailer THG. Brian Kennedy, a former owner of the rugby union team Sale Sharks, has bought almost 3% of shares in Matthew Moulding’s beauty business. (Daily Mail)
Deliveroo was forced to scrap an £18m deal with Capita, one of the UK’s biggest outsourcing companies, after only five months when it failed to deliver on its promise to recruit a team of 150 multilingual staff for the takeaway company. (The Times £)
Two-thirds of British households are now shopping with Aldi, fresh figures show, as the German discounter said it had overcome “big stores with big prices”. (The Telegraph £)
Shoppers have been warned they face more fruit and vegetable shortages, as temperatures in southern Spain soar to unprecedented levels while the UK growing season gets off to a late start because of cold, overcast weather. (The Guardian)
Renée Elliott talks to the Sunday Times on buying back Planet Organic. “The underlying business is strong,” Elliott said. “The ten stores that are open today are profitable — they all make a contribution.” (The Times £)
Grocery delivery app pioneer Getir is in talks to take over its lossmaking German rival Flink, according to people familiar with the deal, as consolidation accelerates in one of the pandemic’s hottest tech sectors. (Financial Times £)
Jamie Oliver is launching a new chain of upmarket restaurants in Britain, only a year after administrators finished winding up Jamie’s Italian, which collapsed with the loss of more than a thousand jobs. (The Times £)
Versatile and relatively affordable, chicken is the UK’s most popular meat, with the level of consumption far outstripping beef, lamb or pork. But challenges are pushing many domestic producers to reduce the size of their flocks, while others weigh up whether to continue at all. (The Guardian)
The conflict in Sudan has left international consumer goods makers racing to shore up supplies of gum arabic - critical to the food, drinks and cosmetics industry. (Sky News)
French prosecutors are investigating Auchan’s Russian subsidiary over allegations that employees at the food retail group committed fraud and bribery in a scheme to enrich themselves. (Financial Times £)
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