http://www.retail-week.com/rss/food_rss.xml en-uk Marks & Spencer’s controversial 5p food carrier bag charge has resulted in an 80 per cent drop in the number of bags used since the scheme’s introduction in May.  http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/ms_bag_charging_scheme_hailed_a_success.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/ms_bag_charging_scheme_hailed_a_success.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Tom Whittaker 23 July 2008 17:09 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/M%26S%20simply%20food_resized_70_tcm14-580942.jpg Tesco has been given the go ahead to build Britain’s first straw-powered, combined heat and power plant. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/tesco_to_build_strawpowered_energy_plant.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/tesco_to_build_strawpowered_energy_plant.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Tom Whittaker 18 July 2008 17:15 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/TescoEcoStore_resized_70_tcm14-1743822.jpg Discount retailers account for 5.9 per cent of grocery spend in the UK – their highest figure reported to date – and are the fastest-growing sector of the market. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/discount_grocers_pull_in_record_share.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/discount_grocers_pull_in_record_share.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Tom Whittaker 22 July 2008 16:22 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/Lidl_resized_70_tcm14-295053.jpg Nisa-Today’s is to use an online application to trade with the suppliers it recruits to its local sourcing initiative. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/nisatodays_to_use_web_tool_for_local_sourcing.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/nisatodays_to_use_web_tool_for_local_sourcing.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD 23 July 2008 10:19 Supermarkets Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s will lower petrol prices, in a move prompted by falling oil prices. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/grocers_to_cut_petrol_prices.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/grocers_to_cut_petrol_prices.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Amy Shields 22 July 2008 08:34 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/Petrol_resized_70_tcm14-684015.jpg Tesco is to give away tea and biscuits at 252 stores across the UK this week in an effort to revive the traditional British tea break and lift sales. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/tesco_to_revive_british_tea_break.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/tesco_to_revive_british_tea_break.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Jennifer Creevy 22 July 2008 09:06 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/TescoFascia_resized_70_tcm14-93993.jpg Ocado is to expand beyond food into areas such as clothing and health and beauty as it notches up sales of £1 billion. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Fashion/2008/07/ocado_to_expand_beyond_food.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Fashion/2008/07/ocado_to_expand_beyond_food.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Jennifer Creevy 21 July 2008 10:21 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/OcadoVan_resized_70_tcm14-296133.jpg The average family is £9 a week worse off compared with June last year, Asda’s income tracker has found. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/uk_families_disposable_income_still_shrinking.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/uk_families_disposable_income_still_shrinking.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Tom Whittaker 21 July 2008 08:18 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/AsdaExterior_resized_70_tcm14-149601.jpg John Lewis has ended its falling sales trend with a strong week for its clearance Sale, recording sales up 5.9 per cent for the week to July 12. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/john_lewis_reports_strong_sale.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/john_lewis_reports_strong_sale.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Jennifer Creevy 18 July 2008 08:43 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/JohnLewisOxfordSt_resized_70_tcm14-360509.jpg The long-awaited Co-op-Somerfield deal was finally completed this week with little pomp and ceremony. http://www.retail-week.com:80/ChannelComment/2008/07/coop_should_focus_on_what_it_does_best.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/ChannelComment/2008/07/coop_should_focus_on_what_it_does_best.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Jennifer Creevy 18 July 2008 11:40 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/JenniferCreevy_resized_70_tcm14-75186.jpg Asda is to slash the price of a dozen core groceries this weekend as shoppers start to feel the pinch towards the end of the month. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/asda_launches_price_cuts_weekend.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/asda_launches_price_cuts_weekend.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Jennifer Creevy 17 July 2008 17:52 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/AsdaExterior_resized_70_tcm14-149601.jpg Asda will relaunch its George clothing brand in September as it seeks to make the label the UK’s biggest-selling fashion brand by volume before the end of 2011. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Fashion/2008/07/asda_pencils_in_september_relaunch_date_for_george.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Fashion/2008/07/asda_pencils_in_september_relaunch_date_for_george.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Jennifer Creevy 17 July 2008 11:10 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/George%20Exterior2_resized_70_tcm14-302817.jpg Kingfisher chief executive Ian Cheshire has pulled off a real coup with the final additions to his top team charged with turning around the DIY giant. http://www.retail-week.com:80/ChannelComment/2008/07/the_retail_week__july_18_2008.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/ChannelComment/2008/07/the_retail_week__july_18_2008.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD George MacDonald 18 July 2008 09:50 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/MacdonaldGeorge_resized_70_tcm14-120453.jpg Waitrose is investing £6 million in a fresh design for its stores in an effort to strengthen its foodie credentials. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Stores/2008/07/waitrose_to_wow_foodies_with_new_store_design.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Stores/2008/07/waitrose_to_wow_foodies_with_new_store_design.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD 17 July 2008 13:35 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/Waitroseext_resized_70_tcm14-169489.jpg Confectionary retailer Thorntons’s like-for-likes rose 3.6 per cent for the 10 weeks to June 28, 2008. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/throntons_likeforlikes_up_36_per_cent.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/throntons_likeforlikes_up_36_per_cent.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Nicola Harrison 16 July 2008 09:19 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/Thorntons_sweets_resized_70_tcm14-1733262.jpg The Co-operative Group has sealed its long-awaited £1.56 billion deal to buy Somerfield. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/coop_buys_somerfield_for_156bn.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/coop_buys_somerfield_for_156bn.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Jennifer Creevy 16 July 2008 08:46 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/Coop_FasciaNight_resized_70_tcm14-74632.jpg What are the best shops in the world? We asked retail’s leading lights to identify the stores they really admire. From a cheese shop in Bath to a surf store in Florida, the stores have little in common, except one thing – they excel in product, service and creativity that is the lifeblood of retail http://www.retail-week.com:80/Fashion/2008/06/100_shops_you_must_visit_2008.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Fashion/2008/06/100_shops_you_must_visit_2008.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD 26 June 2008 12:23 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/10%20corso%20como_resized_70_tcm14-1646403.jpg Soaring food and fuel prices pushed the benchmark Consumer Prices Index up 3.8 per cent in June compared with 3.3 per cent in May – almost double the Bank of England’s inflation target. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/food_prices_drive_inflation_in_june.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/food_prices_drive_inflation_in_june.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Tom Whittaker 15 July 2008 10:48 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/FoodShelves_resized_70_tcm14-262061.jpg Factory gate food prices rose 11.8 per cent year on year in June, the fastest rate of increase since records began in 1986. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/factory_gate_food_prices_rise_at_fastest_rate_since_1986.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/factory_gate_food_prices_rise_at_fastest_rate_since_1986.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD 14 July 2008 17:47 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/Bread_resized_70_tcm14-75468.jpg Five retailers and a tobacco manufacturer have agreed to pay the biggest collective penalty ever imposed by the Office of Fair Trading after admitting their role in cigarette price fixing. http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/retailers_fined_over_tobacco_price_fixing.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD http://www.retail-week.com:80/Food/2008/07/retailers_fined_over_tobacco_price_fixing.html;jsessionid=190A86378FF86A87E263F193D6F430FD Jennifer Creevy 14 July 2008 09:36 http://www.retail-week.com:80/images/AsdaVan_resized_70_tcm14-1543077.jpg