News roundup--Thorntons, Tesco, more

Peter Thornton, the former chairman and part of the Thortons founding family, has warned that the confectionery retailer could collapse into administration or be bought out if it doesn’t change its strategy. The Independent quotes him as saying, “I do fear that if Thorntons survives at all, it may well finish up as another Cadburys--a tiny part of some huge, foreign multinational with employees thrown out of work, factories closed, shops closed and the usual and unseen damage to the locality and the country. Alternatively, Thorntons may go into administration to be picked up by some private-equity company and further emasculated."

Wilkinson has exited the race to buy hardware-store chain Robert Dyas, reports the Evening Standard. At least one bidder remains in the running.

Tesco has bought digital music platform WE7 to complement its current music offer in-store and online. WE7 is a free-to-listen, personalised internet radio service where customers can listen to their favourite music and discover new tracks. The deal, for £10.8 million, follows the acquisition of online movies and TV streaming platform Blinkbox last year and is the latest step in Tesco’s strategy to offer customers new and innovative ways of accessing digital entertainment.

Macmillan Cancer Support has partnered with Charity Greetings to launch an online greetings card shop. According to John Norton, head of sales at Macmillan Cancer Support, the move allows Macmillan “to expand into every day greetings cards, giving our supporters the chance to buy cards supporting Macmillan for their loved ones year-round.” UK Fundraising has more on the story.

Laithwaite’s, Ten Green Bottles and Yapp are among the wine retailers mentioned in an Independent article on the best online wine merchants.