Retail Analysis

The chips are down: supermarkets off to shaky start

Pattrick Smellie
Thu, 21 Oct 2021

The chips are down: supermarkets off to shaky start

Supermarket giants have an uncomfortable first day under the regulator's gaze. (Image:Getty)

Pattrick Smellie
Thu, 21 Oct 2021

The first day of the Commerce Commission’s inquiry into supermarket competition didn’t go very well for the supermarket owners.They relied far too much on the clever ministrations of a consultant economist instead of actually providing the evidence that commissioner John Small kept asking for, politely and insistently, but without much effect.His basic question: you have 80% of the market and it hasn’t changed much. How come?The answers: that price parity between the big players demonstrates prices are as low as they can be an...

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The chips are down: supermarkets off to shaky start

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