Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden has recently indicated that the Commerce Commission is actively engaging with a variety of potential market disruptors in the grocery sector. However, he has refrained from disclosing specific names or details about it.
At a panel during the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council’s (NZFGC) annual conference, which primarily attracts members such as manufacturers, producers, and suppliers of grocery products, participants were given the chance to pose questions to the leadership team and board members of the Commerce Commission regarding their regulatory activities in the sector.
When asked about the Commission’s efforts to attract new competitors, Chair John Small stated that the agency’s regulatory framework is designed to “promote competition.”
“We don’t take a particularly narrow view of that scope; we recognise the business realities and challenges a third entrant of scale will face,” Small commented.
Van Heerden also mentioned that the agency is currently engaging in discussions with potential new entrants. However, he could not reveal which companies the commission was in talks with.
“We are meeting with different players in the market, smaller and larger ones, who are interested in coming into the NZ market and who are interested in growing a supermarket footprint.”
In October, ComCom rejected a proposed merger between Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island, two of the largest grocery retailers in the country.
The boards of Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island operate as separate entities. Earlier this year, the country’s largest supermarket operator proposed a merger of its divisions to create a national cooperative.
The Commission stated that the merger would significantly diminish competition in the market.