== Waitrose opens sites ==

 

Waitrose is to open stores on two busy motorway sites after agreeing a deal with Welcome Break. The first store will open on May 1 at Oxford Services on the M40, with the second at South Mimms on the M25 on May 15. The 2,500sq ft shops are the smallest-ever Waitrose stores and the company said they would reach up to 9 million motorists and create 50 new jobs. Waitrose commercial director Richard Hodgson said the shops would sell sandwiches, salads and drinks as well as top-up items like bread, milk and ready meals.

 

== P&H starts Sweetdirect ==

 

Palmer and Harvey has launched Sweetdirect, a van sales service which supplies confectionery and sweet brands directly to the door of more than 20,000 independent retailers. The service, offering competitive prices and promotions, will run alongside Snacksdirect, which delivers savoury snacks, biscuits and cakes. The company said there was no need to pre-order products, which was a factor retailers valued because it allowed them to manage their time more effectively.

 

== Tesco caught short ==

 

Tesco has been fined £18,000 for selling short measures of fuel at a site in Wales. The issue was discovered during a routine inspection by Trading Standards at the Ystrad Mynach petrol station last year. It was estimated the loss to customers was 168,000 litres of fuel between October 2007 and July 2008. Tesco was fined at Caerphilly Magistrates’ Court on March 31 after it was found it had failed to check pump accuracy.