Tesco is to remove one billion pieces of plastic from products by the end of 2020 as it seeks to reduce its environmental impact, it has announced.

Tesco will next week become the first major British supermarket group to offer a subscription customer loyalty scheme, the latest weapon in its fight to stem the market share gains of German-owned discounters.

Asda, the British supermarket arm of US retail giant Walmart (WMT N), said uncertainty surrounding Brexit was affecting its customers as it eked out a small rise in second quarter sales, helped by the later timing of Easter this year.

We are on the cusp of a revolution in consumer tastes, which will rock the agri-food industry to its core, regardless of the Climate Change Advisory committee recommendations for a substantial reduction in the cattle herd to meet Ireland’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets.

The fortunes of supermarkets are diverging on either side of the Irish Sea, with UK grocers posting their first fall in sales since June three years ago and Irish supermarkets adding sales and increasing prices.

Argos says that it is working to minimise the job losses associated with the closure of its store in Cork city centre.

Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of British catalogue retailer Argos jumped nearly 60% last year, new figures show.

Women are breaking the old ‘taboo’ to talk about period waste and campaign for sustainable feminine hygiene options, writes Ellie O'Byrne.

Ditching the plastic feels good, but what consumers really need is less plastic to dump in the first place, writes

Sainsbury’s, reeling from last week’s decision by the UK regulator to block its takeover of rival Asda, was alone among Britain’s big four supermarket groups in seeing sales fall in the latest 12-week period, industry data has shown.

Britain’s competition regulator has blocked Sainsbury’s proposed £7.3bn (€8.4bn) takeover of Walmart-owned Asda — a huge blow to the supermarket groups who wanted to combine to overtake market leader Tesco.

Sainsbury has lost its status as the UK’s No. 2 supermarket group by market share to its takeover target Asda for the first time in four years, industry data showed.

UK supermarket Sainsbury’s and its takeover target Asda have committed to deliver £1bn (€1.1bn) of lower prices annually by the third year after completion of their proposed €8.5bn deal.

Sainsbury’s sales fell in the latest 12-week period, industry data showed, as the group continued to underperform Britain’s other big four supermarket chains, including planned merger partner Asda.

Marks & Spencer and Ocado are discussing a joint venture that could expand the retailer’s home-delivery operations and further shake up the rattled UK grocery sector.

The Musgrave Group is planning a number of new in-store retail brands, some of which may also be expanded into standalone ‘high street’ brands at a later date.

Irish stores will not be affected by Marks & Spencer’s plan to close more than 100 of its clothing and home stores in the next five years, the company has said.

Vodafone is nearing a transformational deal to buy continental European assets from cable giant John Malone’s Liberty Global and could announce an agreement next week, according to sources.

Sainsbury’s and Asda are in talks to create Britain’s biggest supermarket group, a combination which would surpass Tesco’s grocery market share and be worth up to £15bn (€17bn).

Major supermarkets in the UK are selling plastic-packaged fruit and vegetables for less than customers can buy them loose, an investigation has found.

Tesco shares struggled — rising gradually after being down for most of the day — despite data showing that the supermarket giant probably outperformed its smaller UK rivals during the festive season.

Each of the "big four" grocers lost customer share in the last quarter despite increasing sales as Aldi and Lidl collectively accounted for half of the entire market's overall growth, figures show.

British supermarket giant Tesco has reported a surge in half-year profits and rising sales as it hailed efforts to keep prices low amid Brexit-fuelled inflation.

A healthy amount of sleep has a far higher impact on wellbeing than a 50% increase in disposable income, a study of quality of life in the UK has found.

Four UK supermarkets have taken products off their shelves in the wake of the egg contamination scare - as the Food Standards Agency says the scale of the problem is higher than previously thought.

Warehouse workers at retail giant Argos are to stage a three-week strike in a dispute over redundancy arrangements.

Early summer barbecues and higher prices proved a potent combination for UK supermarket chain Sainsbury, as its acquisition of Argos appears to be paying off.

Like-for-like sales at Tesco’s Irish operations showed marginal growth of 0.2% in the three months to the end of May — the first quarter of the British supermarket giant’s financial year.

UK supermarket Sainsbury is struggling to keep up with supermarket rivals and discounters in a British grocery market under pressure from a Brexit-induced fall in the value of sterling.

noneAround 37,000 current and former Argos workers are to receive an average of £64 each after "incorrect" payments were discovered.

Shares in Sainsbury’s rose after beating forecasts for Christmas trading in its core supermarket business, while fashion retailer Ted Baker shares also jumped on an unexpectedly upbeat festive sales.

Christmas spending at UK supermarkets and weak sterling helped boost London’s Ftse 100 blue-chip index, which hit fresh record highs yesterday, as other European shares also ended slightly in positive territory.

UK grocery prices rose slightly from November to December, according to data from tracking website www.mySupermarket.com

Your letters, your views...

When the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU, on June 23, it provoked a tsunami of self-centred comment on this side of the water. Would it be economically disastrous for Ireland or would it bring huge opportunities for our financial services market?

Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco has warned its multinational suppliers against pushing up prices after a drop in the pound so they can maintain their reported profits.

Britain’s decision to quit the EU in last month’s referendum has not had an immediate impact on grocery prices or the volume of goods sold, according to industry data.

British supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has been awarded £69m (€83m) by a London judge following a long-running dispute over fees charged on card transactions with Mastercard.

The London market was dragged into the red after a gloomy economic update from Britain’s construction industry dealt a punishing blow to housebuilders.

A bag within a box is this start-up’s innovative way to enable households to recycle and compost more, writes Trish Dromey.