The UK’s Competition Commission (CC) has found few problems with retailer-supplier relationships in its emerging thinking document, released today (23 January).
Go deeper with GlobalData
The CC, having received evidence on relationships between grocery retailers and their suppliers, said that although no widespread problems were indicated in the supply chain, there were still concerns.
It was found that bigger buyers do not always appear to get better terms from suppliers, and that food and drink manufacturers and processors, as well as wholesalers, seem to be in reasonable shape.
Peter Freeman, chairman of the CC and Inquiry Group chairman, said: “We have now gathered a large amount of evidence about the overall picture in this market, and having gathered this information, we can now look in detail at the situation locally.”
“We are not here to punish success or individual retailers but we are concerned with whether Tesco, or any other supermarket, can get into such a strong position, either nationally or locally, that no other retailer can compete effectively.”
The commission will focus on local markets across the UK in the next stage of its investigation, it said.
