Sainsbury (J)

Sainsbury’s and Morrisons held multibillion-pound merger talks but Sainsbury’s pulled back, judging the tie-up not a must-do despite likely regulatory approval risks. The CMA would probably approve some form of deal but require site-by-site remedies, which could complicate value for Sainsbury’s. Morrisons’ private equity owners seek an exit, making a sale to Sainsbury’s plausible, yet Sainsbury’s can afford to wait or demand better terms. » More on theguardian.com

Sainsbury’s held exploratory negotiations with Morrisons this year on a potential multibillion-pound merger that would have created a supermarket with about 23.6% market share. The deal is not believed to be live and would likely face close scrutiny from the Competition and Markets Authority, which could require store disposals. Morrisons’ heavy debt load since its 2021 buyout and rising competition from discounters such as Lidl underlined challenges for any combination. » More on theguardian.com

Sainsbury’s has suspended use of Facewatch facial recognition in its East Dulwich store after a customer, Matt Arnold, was wrongly identified as a shoplifter and ejected. The retailer says the incident resulted from human error rather than the technology and has apologised while investigating and retraining staff. Facewatch also defended the system’s alert, citing a 99.98% accuracy rate, but critics and previous misidentifications have prompted calls to disable the system more widely. » More on theguardian.com