John Wood
Pressure is being piled on the Office of Fair Trading to refer Tesco's takeover offer for T&S Stores to the Competition Commission.
This week two more major players in the c-store sector made representations to the OFT and the Federation of Wholesale Distributors chairman also warned against the deal in The Grocer.
The latest submission to the OFT came from the Association of Convenience Stores which agreed its approach at a meeting of its ruling Council on Wednesday.
After the meeting chief executive David Rae said the ACS was raising a number of points it believed the OFT should take into account and would also be seeking a face-to-face meeting with the OFT.
He defended the length of time it took the ACS to make its submission, saying it had been because it needed to consult fully with members and reflect their views.
The ACS is urging the OFT to take a long-term view of the implications of the deal.
It points out that, although Tesco may be able to offer lower prices and increased employment in the short term, it will adversely affect the rest of the c-store sector in the long term, pushing up the prices they pay and reducing margins because it will lower the prices they can charge customers.
It also says that Tesco Express will compete in the local market for staff, pushing up c-store costs even further.
The ACS warns that these pressures will affect the viability of many stores and also points out that services such as Post Offices, bill payments and home news delivery may also be lost.
Spar UK MD Jerry Marwood confirmed the group had a face-to-face meeting with the OFT. He said: "We have concerns about fairness if a company is using its buying power in one sector to dominate another."
In The Saturday Essay this week, FWD chairman and Today's Group MD Rodney Hunt calls for the deal to be referred and was expected to repeat the call in his address to the FWD annual dinner on Thursday night.
The OFT has set December 18 as the deadline for its decision.
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Pressure is being piled on the Office of Fair Trading to refer Tesco's takeover offer for T&S Stores to the Competition Commission.
This week two more major players in the c-store sector made representations to the OFT and the Federation of Wholesale Distributors chairman also warned against the deal in The Grocer.
The latest submission to the OFT came from the Association of Convenience Stores which agreed its approach at a meeting of its ruling Council on Wednesday.
After the meeting chief executive David Rae said the ACS was raising a number of points it believed the OFT should take into account and would also be seeking a face-to-face meeting with the OFT.
He defended the length of time it took the ACS to make its submission, saying it had been because it needed to consult fully with members and reflect their views.
The ACS is urging the OFT to take a long-term view of the implications of the deal.
It points out that, although Tesco may be able to offer lower prices and increased employment in the short term, it will adversely affect the rest of the c-store sector in the long term, pushing up the prices they pay and reducing margins because it will lower the prices they can charge customers.
It also says that Tesco Express will compete in the local market for staff, pushing up c-store costs even further.
The ACS warns that these pressures will affect the viability of many stores and also points out that services such as Post Offices, bill payments and home news delivery may also be lost.
Spar UK MD Jerry Marwood confirmed the group had a face-to-face meeting with the OFT. He said: "We have concerns about fairness if a company is using its buying power in one sector to dominate another."
In The Saturday Essay this week, FWD chairman and Today's Group MD Rodney Hunt calls for the deal to be referred and was expected to repeat the call in his address to the FWD annual dinner on Thursday night.
The OFT has set December 18 as the deadline for its decision.
{{NEWS }}
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