The weekend was dominated by the fallout of the final collapse of BHS, but there was still room for a preview of the upcoming Sainsbury’s Q1 results.

Sainsbury’s is expected to report a fall in first-quarter sales this week as questions mount over the retail giant’s £1.4bn takeover of Argos, writes The Sunday Times. The supermarket is set to unveil a 1.4% decline in like-for-like sales on Wednesday, according to analysts. The Sunday Telegraph reports that the money Sainsbury’s earned from supplier payments fell 40% last year as the supermarket moved away from cut-price promotions in favour of consistently lower prices. The paper writes that income from “supplier arrangements” fell to £371m in the year to March 31, from £639m the year before. The supermarket’s loyalty card has been dealt a blow by the new owner of DIY chain Homebase, which is to pull out of the Nectar rewards scheme and focus on cutting prices, reports The Mail on Sunday.

The Mail on Sunday also reports Marks & Spencer is expected to reveal this week in its annual report that its former chief executive Marc Bolland was paid more than £17m during his six years at the firm.

Asahi is still ‘thirsty’ after downing Grolsch, according to The Sunday Times. The Japanese brewer is exploring a £5bn swoop on a host of SABMiller’s eastern European beers, including Pilsner Urquel.

Diageo has drawn up emergency plans to cope with Scotland leaving Britain in the event of a Brexit victory in the EU referendum, says The Sunday Times.

Coca-Cola will collaborate with the UK government in fighting obesity and not go to court over its proposed sugar tax on carbonated drinks, the head of the company’s newly formed west European bottler told The FT in an interview. Sol Daurella, chairman of Coca-Cola European Partners, said the three-way merger of bottlers would boost lacklustre sales, as it prepares to pump out more low-sugar alternatives, including waters, juices and teas.

The Financial Times picks up on the Walmart tie-up with car-hailing services Uber and Lyft to deliver groceries in a pilot scheme based in Denver and Phoenix.

Former Asda boss Andy Bond is opening the first store in the new GHM! (Guess How Much!) chain on Tuesday (The Guardian).

The liquidation of BHS dominated the papers, with The Mail On Sunday reporting that former owner Dominic Chappell will be quizzed by MPs this week on claims he could arrange a £100m loan from the Bank of China to help save the company just days after he took control last year. The Guardian provides the 10 questions Dominic Chappell must answer over the BHS collapse. Simon Watkins in The Mail on Sunday writes that the BHS blame game really begins – “and no one is going to come out of this looking good”. “Whatever others did wrong, the blame for BHS is mostly Green’s,” a column in The Telegraph opines. The paper also reports that Green twice rejected bids for BHS in three months before he sold it to the same ill-fated buyer. The Sunday Times notes that Sir Philip is desperately trying to find a deal for the BHS pension scheme to avert an industry-funded bailout. The paper also details Green’s ties to the liquidator tasked with slicing up BHS. The paper says he is well acquainted with the corporate undertaker breaking up the chain he once owned.

 

 

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