What the Sunday papers said – June 23, 2008

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Retail furniture prices are likely to soar, reported The Observer, as the industry deals with cost pressures and a downturn in trading. The newspaper also said that an attempt to refinance sofa retailer ScS was changing on "an hourly basis".

The Independent said that two of the UK's biggest insurers – Euler Hermes and Atradius – have scaled back the cover on offer to some of outdoor fashion retailer Blacks' suppliers. The move reflects ongoing jitters in the credit markets and a number of small and mid-sized retailers have been affected, said the newspaper.

The Mail on Sunday speculated that Tesco's AGM on Friday will be "the most acrimonious yet" as critics fly in from India, China and the US to "lambast Tesco's bosses". Notably, celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and a TV crew will bring the chef's "Chicken Out" campaign to the AGM, after he bought shares in the retailer and funded distribution of a special resolution.

The paper also reported on "stealth Sales" as retailers trial more subtle ways of discounting stock without devaluing their brand.

Amazon is preparing to launch its digital music service in the UK, said The Sunday Telegraph. Executives from Amazon's MP3 store, which launched in the US last year, are understood to have been in London last week to sort out a deal with British record companies.

Attendees at eBay's AGM last week booed proposed changes to the online auctioneer's feedback system, according to The Sunday Times. Chief executive John Donahoe said the company wanted to operate less like a car boot sale and more like a shopping mall.

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