Tesco is to launch a staunch defence of its trading practices at the All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group’s evidence hearing next week at Parliament.
The group is also expecting Asda to submit evidence to the High Street 2015 inquiry as the retailer continues to press for changes to the planning law.
The move by two of the big supermarkets to get involved has been welcomed by the group of MPs gathering evidence on the state of the grocery market and what effects the multiples’ growing dominance will have on the high street in 10 years’ time.
Group chairman and Labour MP Jim Dowd said he was particularly pleased that Tesco was to give evidence, as it had previously failed to respond to requests for it to attend. “Since the session last week, Tesco has contacted us. We are very keen to hear from Tesco and I think it is wise to come to speak to us, because its name has come up with monotonous regularity throughout this inquiry.”
During the first of two hearings this week, Dowd said that Sainsbury had written to the inquiry to say that the British Retail Consortium would represent its views. But at the same session, BRC director general Kevin Hawkins denied any knowledge of such an agreement. He told the inquiry that a healthy high street in 2015 would give consumers a choice of shops, ranging from retail parks and hypermarkets to independent c-stores.
He also said that there should be a debate about Asda’s call for a change in planning regulations to stimulate competition. “If, as a result of going through this sequence of debates and issues, we come to the conclusion that this is something in the public interest… then I say ‘let’s do it’.”
Hawkins defended the multiples’ move into the convenience market, of which Tesco and Sainsbury now have a combined 11% market share.
He said that as well as bringing lower prices to the sector, they had also forced a big improvement in the fresh offer by all retailers.
The New Economics Foundation, the economics think-tank whose warning of a ‘clone town Britain’ prompted the inquiry, said the Office of Fair Trading had acknowledged that an 8% market share was enough for supermarkets to abuse their power and that capping a grocer’s share to that limit was possible. At last month’s Tesco half-year results, chief executive Terry Leahy said its share of the convenience market had reached “about 7%”.
Friends of the Earth called for stores to be limited to 30,000 sq ft. It said stores had been rushing to build mezzanines before pending legislation necessitated planning permission.
The final hearing, which Tesco is expected to attend along with competition minister Gerry Sutcliffe, will take place at Westminster next Thursday.
Meanwhile, Tesco’s acquisition of 21 BP/Safeway petrol stations from Morrisons was this week waved through by the OFT.
Fiona McLelland
The group is also expecting Asda to submit evidence to the High Street 2015 inquiry as the retailer continues to press for changes to the planning law.
The move by two of the big supermarkets to get involved has been welcomed by the group of MPs gathering evidence on the state of the grocery market and what effects the multiples’ growing dominance will have on the high street in 10 years’ time.
Group chairman and Labour MP Jim Dowd said he was particularly pleased that Tesco was to give evidence, as it had previously failed to respond to requests for it to attend. “Since the session last week, Tesco has contacted us. We are very keen to hear from Tesco and I think it is wise to come to speak to us, because its name has come up with monotonous regularity throughout this inquiry.”
During the first of two hearings this week, Dowd said that Sainsbury had written to the inquiry to say that the British Retail Consortium would represent its views. But at the same session, BRC director general Kevin Hawkins denied any knowledge of such an agreement. He told the inquiry that a healthy high street in 2015 would give consumers a choice of shops, ranging from retail parks and hypermarkets to independent c-stores.
He also said that there should be a debate about Asda’s call for a change in planning regulations to stimulate competition. “If, as a result of going through this sequence of debates and issues, we come to the conclusion that this is something in the public interest… then I say ‘let’s do it’.”
Hawkins defended the multiples’ move into the convenience market, of which Tesco and Sainsbury now have a combined 11% market share.
He said that as well as bringing lower prices to the sector, they had also forced a big improvement in the fresh offer by all retailers.
The New Economics Foundation, the economics think-tank whose warning of a ‘clone town Britain’ prompted the inquiry, said the Office of Fair Trading had acknowledged that an 8% market share was enough for supermarkets to abuse their power and that capping a grocer’s share to that limit was possible. At last month’s Tesco half-year results, chief executive Terry Leahy said its share of the convenience market had reached “about 7%”.
Friends of the Earth called for stores to be limited to 30,000 sq ft. It said stores had been rushing to build mezzanines before pending legislation necessitated planning permission.
The final hearing, which Tesco is expected to attend along with competition minister Gerry Sutcliffe, will take place at Westminster next Thursday.
Meanwhile, Tesco’s acquisition of 21 BP/Safeway petrol stations from Morrisons was this week waved through by the OFT.
Fiona McLelland
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