National has made a supermarket break-up a key part of its election pitch, proposing to sever Pak’nSave from New World in a bid to drive down grocery prices.
National’s plan would turn the company into supermarket chains: Pak’nSave, New World/Four Square and Woolworths.
The breakup, however, would be contingent on a six-month review by the Commerce Commission into whether the split would leave shoppers better off.
I’ll just post what I did in the previous thread about the Green plan.
Maybe break up the vertical integration.
You either get to be a store or a distribution center, not both, also strip the trucking from them.
Basically letting them control the the entire industry gives them way too much power.
No need to buy the stores etc. Just do what was done to Telecom, strip out the lines business and make them sell the access to everyone.
In the case of the supermarkets; force the breakup of the distribution network. This also allows small local supermarkets to compete on price, because they get access to the same price that existing major stores have available.
How does a lettuce sell for ~$1 at the market garden and show up on shelves at above $6. It isn’t just the stores, the internal costs from the distribution network are very high.
This is not a full plan, we need a full analysis of how costs are being added throughout chain from farm to supermarket, somewhere along the way big costs are being imposed.
This guy regulates.
This is the way.
This is straight up disingenuine.
Hence the quotes around ‘pursue’ 😅
Yeah, right. They’ve been happy for the problem to exist for decades.
I know Foodstuffs operate more stores than Woolworths, and splitting along the existing brand lines is easier, but it still feels wrong to take the cooperative, owned by the franchisees, where the profits go back to the local store owners, and break it up. While some giant Australian company that owns everything from the supply and distribution through to the dirt under it’s stores is left untouched.
Would they have done this if the Greens hadn’t moved the overton window?
Probably not!
Good on the Greens for starting the conversation; but I don’t particularly like their plan.
As per my other comment I’m not that convinced that breaking up the cooperative is the right move. How about forcing Woolworths to separate their supply, distribution, and retail operations into separate companies? At least Foodstuffs profits go back to local store owners where Woolworths is just some multinational corporation.
But you’re right, I don’t think we would be here without the last decade or two of investigations and complaints about the duopoly, with much of that pushed by the Greens.
Ah I hadn’t twigged that they choose a cooperative instead of a multinational. Of course.
