The headline on my Opinion column this week was one of the questions posed at the seminar we organised to examine how the Safeway sell-off will affect the industry, consumers and investors.
For those who don't know the answer, porcupines should try to mate very, very carefully. And, as those at our seminar heard on Wednesday, so should retailers, because very few, if any, mergers are ever made to work. In other words: investors beware.
Our speakers also agreed that while consumers would probably be the big winners from any acquisition of Safeway, the losers would be the smaller own label suppliers and the manufacturers of secondary and tertiary brands. They will find themselves in what former Somerfield boss David Simons graphically described as the killing grounds'.
Such suppliers are hoping none of the porcupines get together. That's almost certainly wishful thinking, but perfectly understandable. Judging by the letters on this page, it is clear there are some companies who feel they are already being stung by the quills of what is supposed to be the weakest porcupine in the market.
But what about the impact of a Safeway sale on other retailers? Whoever wins, it is clear the UK grocery retail sector is on the verge of a seismic structural change something we explore in detail on pages 16 and 17.
While the Safeway story does rather dominate our news pages this week, don't miss the other big event of the week publication of our second Top 50 ranking of the biggest privately owned grocery retail businesses in the UK. Whether it is frozen food discounting, traditional supermarketing or convenience retailing, all the companies featured in our annual listing share one thing in common they are the best independents around.
And while the porcupines may be trying to mate, it is these companies that show there is a way for smaller retailers to prosper even in the most difficult of market conditions. You can read how they are doing by turning to our feature starting on page 40. It makes for compelling reading.
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For those who don't know the answer, porcupines should try to mate very, very carefully. And, as those at our seminar heard on Wednesday, so should retailers, because very few, if any, mergers are ever made to work. In other words: investors beware.
Our speakers also agreed that while consumers would probably be the big winners from any acquisition of Safeway, the losers would be the smaller own label suppliers and the manufacturers of secondary and tertiary brands. They will find themselves in what former Somerfield boss David Simons graphically described as the killing grounds'.
Such suppliers are hoping none of the porcupines get together. That's almost certainly wishful thinking, but perfectly understandable. Judging by the letters on this page, it is clear there are some companies who feel they are already being stung by the quills of what is supposed to be the weakest porcupine in the market.
But what about the impact of a Safeway sale on other retailers? Whoever wins, it is clear the UK grocery retail sector is on the verge of a seismic structural change something we explore in detail on pages 16 and 17.
While the Safeway story does rather dominate our news pages this week, don't miss the other big event of the week publication of our second Top 50 ranking of the biggest privately owned grocery retail businesses in the UK. Whether it is frozen food discounting, traditional supermarketing or convenience retailing, all the companies featured in our annual listing share one thing in common they are the best independents around.
And while the porcupines may be trying to mate, it is these companies that show there is a way for smaller retailers to prosper even in the most difficult of market conditions. You can read how they are doing by turning to our feature starting on page 40. It makes for compelling reading.
{{COMMENT & LETTERS }}
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