Retail news round-up on January 15, 2016: Morrisons trials new style logo at selected stores and Amazon secures ocean shipping licence in China.

Morrisons tests new 'tree-style' emblem in six locations

Morrisons is trialling a new logo at its six stores across the north of England, Mirror reported.

The ‘tree’ motif depicts golden leaves sprouting from the letter I of the word 'Morrisons' with the date the company was established.

The grocer said customer feedback for the new emblem has thus far been ‘fairly positive’.

A spokesperson for the supermarket chain said: “It's only been trailed at one big store, then at a few smaller ones. We trial many different things in store all the time and this is just one of them. We wouldn't comment further until the trial was over.”

Amazon bags ocean shipping licence in China

Amazon has secured a China ocean shipping permit that will allow the online retailer to buy space from vessel owners and sell it to the public, Financial Times reported.

The move comes as the firm aims to offer large-scale shipping services to companies that sell on Amazon.com.

“This could allow them to go direct to the factories in China to sell to consumers in the United Sates,” said Ryan Petersen, chief executive of US freight forwarding company Flexport.

A spokeswoman for the US Federal Maritime Commission said Amazon China’s registration papers were submitted on November 9.