Sir; I was rather surprised to see that the Co-operative Group was being criticised for the content of its submissions to the Competition Commission grocery inquiry ('The Co-op bares its soul', 18 November, p6).
All supermarket groups at times sell under cost, and if they did not keep up with the competition, how would they survive? In my own Co-operative Group store at Unity in Enfield, I often see small shopkeepers with their trolleys full of bogof products for resale in their own shops. So they are not concerned.
As to covenants forbidding acquired stores to be used to sell food, when the society purchased Alldays and Balfour, many of their stores were near an existing Co-op Group store. For stores that were to be closed, why would the group allow the new purchaser/leaseholder to re-open as a food retailer in competition with it?
Many Co-op Group superstores were sold to Tesco in the past and because of the uproar from members I suspect this would never happen again. Let's see how the Commission reacts.
All supermarket groups at times sell under cost, and if they did not keep up with the competition, how would they survive? In my own Co-operative Group store at Unity in Enfield, I often see small shopkeepers with their trolleys full of bogof products for resale in their own shops. So they are not concerned.
As to covenants forbidding acquired stores to be used to sell food, when the society purchased Alldays and Balfour, many of their stores were near an existing Co-op Group store. For stores that were to be closed, why would the group allow the new purchaser/leaseholder to re-open as a food retailer in competition with it?
Many Co-op Group superstores were sold to Tesco in the past and because of the uproar from members I suspect this would never happen again. Let's see how the Commission reacts.
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