Supermarket Merger Blocked

The proposed merger between Sainsbury's and Asda has been blocked by the UK's competition watchdog over fears it would raise prices for consumers. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also said it would raise prices at the supermarkets' petrol stations and lead to longer checkout queues. The deal would have created the UK's biggest supermarket chain, accounting for £1 in every £3 spent on groceries. Sainsbury's and Asda had said the planned tie-up would have cut their costs, allowing them to lower prices for consumers across the UK. Sainsbury's has more than 1,400 shops in the UK, of which about 800 are convenience stores, while Asda has more than 600. Analysts also believed it was designed to help the two supermarkets counter the rise of discounters Aldi and Lidl in the increasingly competitive grocery market.

Supermarket Merger

Samsung Galaxy Fold Fail

Samsung has postponed the release of its folding smartphone, days after several early reviewers said the screens on their devices had broken. The company said it had delayed the launch of the Galaxy Fold to "fully evaluate the feedback and run further internal tests". In April, several early reviewers found the display on the Galaxy Fold broke after just a few days. Samsung has not said when the £1,800 device will go on sale. A new launch date will be announced in the "coming weeks". The South Korean tech giant has said it is investigating what went wrong with the broken review units. In some cases, reviewers had peeled off a layer of the screen's coating, mistaking it for a disposable screen protector. Samsung has been in a race to launch a folding device ahead of Chinese rival Huawei, which has announced its phone but not let reviewers take one home yet. Both manufacturers say their folding screens can be opened and closed more than 100,000 times without breaking, based on laboratory tests. But in the real world, reviewers have destroyed Samsung's device in less than 48 hours. Perhaps the Galaxy Fold needed a little longer in testing.

Samsung Galaxy Fold

Bulldog Clip Dress

ASOS has apologised for leaving two bulldog clips on a dress for sale on their website. They were clearly visible and being used to hold the dress in place and possibly to create more shape. A sharp-eyed shopper spotted it, and then social media had lots to say about it. The clips have since been edited out, but now some are left questioning whether online shops are misleading them in regards to sizing.ASOS responded to the tweet in quick fashion - in just 10 minutes to be precise. And by the afternoon the clips had been edited and removed from the dress.But that didn't do the trick in stopping people talking about it.Then of course the frustrations spread a little further to more general concerns about the way things are meant to fit and how they actually do fit when they arrive on your doorstep.ASOS stocks more than 850 brands and ships all over the world but last year it warned profit growth was slowing. At the start of the month ASOS threatened to block serial returners , saying if it suspected someone of returning lots it might deactivate their account. But some shoppers now find the threat hypocritical saying the reason why some have to return large amounts of items is due to inaccurate sizing.

ASOS Dress

PS5

Sony has finally released the first details about its next PlayStation console. Gamers have been waiting patiently to find out any information about PS4's replacement, but until now details have been kept firmly under wraps. Now Sony's system architect Mark Cerny has released information about what the "next-gen console" will look like. In an interview with Wired, he reveals it will be much faster, more powerful and include improved audio. But don't expect to be able to buy one in 2019 - you'll have to wait until at least next year to see it on shelves. Good news for avid PlayStation users - the new console will include a high-speed solid-state hard drive (SSD). It will also see gamers being immersed in audio from above, behind and from the side. The next PlayStation supports ray-tracing graphics - the first time a game console has ever managed graphics like it. They're usually used in Hollywood special effects, and occasionally in high-end processors. The questions still are - when will it be released? how much will it cost? will it be called the PS5?

PS5

Made To Be Remade

Adidas is making history with the launch of its first 100% recyclable trainers. The Futurecraft.Loop is the sports brand’s first shoe that can be completely remade into another high performance running trainer. As part of their commitment to tackle plastic waste, adidas’ new trainers use only one material and no glue – making them really easy to recycle. Which is great news if you want to make your wardrobe more environmentally sustainable. t’s a simple concept. When you’ve got all the wear out of your trainers, you just return them to adidas where they are washed, ground to pellets and melted into material for components for a new pair of shoes, with zero waste and nothing thrown away. The shoe is rolling out as part of a global beta program with 200 leading creators from across the world’s major cities – the plan is to roll out the release more widely for spring 2021.

Made To Be Remade

Coffee Cup Ban

An independent coffee chain said it has seen sales fall by £250,000 since it banned single use cups last summer. Boston Tea Party (BTP) has called for major national and international brands to follow suit. Owner Sam Roberts said it had factored the loss in takings into its plans and that too many operators were "putting their profits before the planet". Customers must bring a reusable cup, drink in or pay a deposit on a cup they can return to any branch. Boston Tea Party usually sells £1m in takeaway coffees per year but it is down 25%. Mr Roberts says thankfully the business is supported by a strong food offer and most customers are supportive of its stance on single use cups. But he agrees a smaller coffee shop would struggle to finance a ban. Mr Roberts said the firm had stopped 125,000 cups going to landfill, sold 40,000 reusable coffee cups and raised £12,000 for local charities with the money saved on buying disposable cups - roughly 10 pence for every cup.

Coffee Cup Ban