Waitrose and online retailer Ocado have struck a deal that should enable the retailer to expand its delivery service outside of London. A five-year deal was signed just before Christmas allowing Ocado exclusivity within the M25 and Waitrose the chance to roll out its Deliver service to 125 of its stores, reports the Times. It had previously been hindered from expanding further because parent company John Lewis has a small stake in Ocado.

Tesco and Asda have been condemned for selling a string of books and CDs with the F-word in their titles, writes Jenny Stocks of the Daily Mail. The items were available on their websites, where they were easily accessible to children. They appeared even if inoffensive words from their titles were entered into the sites' search engines, with the potential to shock and offend shoppers.

More than 52,000 employees at Tesco, including shelf-stackers, delivery drivers and check-out operators, will  share a £126m payout from the supermarket's save-as-you-earn schemes. The staff saved between £5 and £50 every month from their salaries for either a three-year or five-year period.

Tesco has launches its own meal deal in the UK with a move that follows a similar promotion from Marks and Spencer.

The prime minister has been urged to act quickly to protect supermarket suppliers such as small grocers and farmers. West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly MP Andrew George called on Gordon Brown to put the Competition Commission's recommendations into place as quickly as possible. The commission said last year an ombudsman should be created to monitor the largest supermarkets in the UK.

Supermarkets including Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's have backed a new campaign to tackle the problem of knife sales to underage people. Various measures to prevent sales to under-18s have been agreed upon by 21 retailers including extra training for staff and more prominent displays in stores.

The cleanliness of supermarkets is just as important as price for consumers and poor hygiene could lead to a loss of custom, a new report has revealed. According to Ecolab, stores that do not maintain basic cleanliness will see shoppers avoiding certain areas of the shop or the store itself. However, the report found stores that are too clean may also alienate consumers who are made to feel "dirty" in comparison.

Tesco is to open a new department store concept in the Czech Republic towards the end of February. Situated in the town of Liberec, the store will fall under the new fascia of 'My Liberec', and will feature an assortment of fashion, home furnishings and food. It is expected that the department store will be positioned towards the premium end of the market.

Somerfield has announced that it is to further expand its 'Simply Value' budget range in the weeks ahead, as the retailer seeks to bolster its value credentials.  The range will feature in new store merchandising plans, and will be supported by bold shelf barkers and POS material.

The victory is the latest accolade for the European discount supermarkets, Aldi and Lidl, which over the last year have won increasing numbers of middle class shoppers to their stores. The £1.49 box of Moser Roth Finest Truffles, made exclusively for Aldi, won 2009 Product of the Year, beating off Green & Blacks fruit and nut cereal bars in the luxury chocolate category. The fruit bars from the famous organic chocolate company usually come in a box of 12 and cost £13.50.