Asda is engaged in a war with fmcg giants including Heinz, Nestlé and General Mills to lower prices as it battles to win back customers, reports The Telegraph. The struggling retailer re-hired retail veteran Darren Blackhurst as its chief commerical officer earlier this month to spearhead the negotiations. An Asda source said: “A lot of suppliers have been supportive. Others are more reluctant. It is about sharing the load. Some just haven’t broken out of the four-week [temporary discount] promotion cycle.”
In an exclusive interview with The Times, M&S chief executive Stuart Machin has been setting out how the retailer is seeking to bounce back from the cyber attack which has dominated the first half of its 2025. Machin told the title sales of its clothing had been badly hit by the attack, with some customers switching to other outlets as a result. He said he had written to half a million affected customers offering compensation for cancelled orders, and planned to use its Sparks loyalty scheme to re-engage them later this year. “If we’ve missed your birthday the last few months, we’re going to make it up to you,” he said.
As part of efforts to bounce back from the cyber attack this spring, M&S is targeting families with a concerted push on larger pack formats, reports The Daily Mail. The retailer has traditionally been seen as a place to pick up ‘bits and bobs’ rather than basic grocery staples, but is attempting to shift that reputation by increasing its ‘bigger pack, better value’ range by a third, to more than 100 products including eggs and avocados.
WH Smith’s new owner Modella Capital has set out its stall to emulate Boots and become “a vanguard retailer” that is part of the “lifeblood” of communities (The Telegraph). Trading under the name TG Jones, the investment firm plans to revamp hundreds of stores with postal and banking services. The introduction of these services alongside everyday products was “really important”, if the shops wanted become more relevant and the business was to avoid the same fate as other high profile retailers that have fallen out of favour, Modella chairman Steve Curtis said.
The Telegraph also reports that Modella Capital is embroiled in a legal row over unsold vapes after a government ban on single use e-cigarettes. It has returned boxes of unsold disposable vapes to NPB Brands, with a court hearing expected for the dispute this week.
In a long-read published over the weekend, The Financial Times has explored how cookies, chocolate bars and potato chips are being left on the shelves as US consumers rein in spending on snacks. Sales of sweet treats have declined by 6.1% and salty snacks by 1.2% in the US over the past year, according to checkout data collected by NIQ. It comes after years of hefty price increases by major food companies, with analysts noting that some lower income consumers are cutting back on small luxuries or making snacks from scratch. The piece also explores the possibility that GLP-1 medications and concerns over ultra-processed food could lead to a permanent reduction in snacking.
Former sub-postmaster Harjinder Butoy has told The BBC he needs “someone to be punished” as Sir Wyn Williams, chair of the official inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal prepares to deliver his first part of its final report on Tuesday. Butoy spent more time in prison than any other victim of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. His conviction was overturned in 2021.
Post Office scandal victims are calling for redress schemes to be taken away from the government completely (Sky News). At the moment, the Department for Business and Trade administers most of the redress schemes including the Horizon Conviction Redress Scheme and the Group Litigation Order (GLO) Scheme.
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