At 10am we are told Nicola Willis is giving us the good word on supermarkets.
She doesn’t like the industry - she's been telling us this for a year and a half.
She is going to do something about the industry - she's been telling us this for a year and a half.
So, Sunday was the day. Except it wasn’t.
It was yet another diatribe about what needs to be done, what could be done and what might be done.
There were more threats, more possibilities, more questions and more investigations.
It was also a speech of hopeless contradictions. On one hand she was telling us how hard it was to enter the market at scale and how big that risk was.
Then she was telling us this was a $20+ billion sector, more than tourism and dairy combined, and yet she clearly hasn’t stopped to ask herself if that big.
Do you not think anyone who could, might have had a bit of a look at the prospect of entering it?
She talked of a player being able to grab 10%. That’s over $2 billion dollars worth of business. You don’t reckon someone, somewhere hasn’t looked at the prospect of $2 billion dollars worth and thought "I wonder if that isn't a bit of me"?
To find out why we don’t have more competition, she announced she was launching yet another investigation. Then after six weeks she may, or may not, get Cabinet to do something legislatively. If that happens she wants to do it by the end of the year and get it passed by the end of the term i.e the end of next year.
So an entire term in Government having literally not produced one more shop.
As I've said all along, it may be we are too small for another major player. Maybe the niche players, along with the two giants, are what are market tolerates.
But as for Nicola and her finger-wagging, if threats were results then we'd be getting somewhere.
If speeches were shelves of well-priced food, the issue would be dealt to.
But for a Government with an image of more talk than action, she didn’t do anything to help that reputation.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
So, Sunday was the day. Except it wasn’t.
It was yet another diatribe about what needs to be done, what could be done and what might be done.
There were more threats, more possibilities, more questions and more investigations.
It was also a speech of hopeless contradictions. On one hand she was telling us how hard it was to enter the market at scale and how big that risk was.
Then she was telling us this was a $20+ billion sector, more than tourism and dairy combined, and yet she clearly hasn’t stopped to ask herself if that big.
Do you not think anyone who could, might have had a bit of a look at the prospect of entering it?
She talked of a player being able to grab 10%. That’s over $2 billion dollars worth of business. You don’t reckon someone, somewhere hasn’t looked at the prospect of $2 billion dollars worth and thought "I wonder if that isn't a bit of me"?
To find out why we don’t have more competition, she announced she was launching yet another investigation. Then after six weeks she may, or may not, get Cabinet to do something legislatively. If that happens she wants to do it by the end of the year and get it passed by the end of the term i.e the end of next year.
So an entire term in Government having literally not produced one more shop.
As I've said all along, it may be we are too small for another major player. Maybe the niche players, along with the two giants, are what are market tolerates.
But as for Nicola and her finger-wagging, if threats were results then we'd be getting somewhere.
If speeches were shelves of well-priced food, the issue would be dealt to.
But for a Government with an image of more talk than action, she didn’t do anything to help that reputation.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
5 comments:
maybe all the tribes will get together, seeing as they were getting on so well before colonialism.
they could maybe....set up as a 'trust' and maybe....pay no tax, imagine that possibility.......
We agree on this one - Willis in particular - another Jenny?
I seem to recall we used to have other supermarkets, i.e. Supervalue, Foodtown etc, but the big corporations were allowed to take them over, hence the cozy duopoly. This would not be permitted in most other countries, but here our regulators either dont understand or dont care. Our best hope would be Aldi or Lidl, but NZ is such a small market, they would need some incentives to come here, and I suspect there would be severe pushback from the very well heeled incumbents.
Anon at 1.22 the Comm Comm allowed the sale of progressive to WW Australia so we went from 3 to 2.
Foodstuffs owns P+S NW On the Spot and 4 Sq
Progressive owned Countdown and Foodtown and then bought the independent 3 Guys but they also stable Fresh Choice and S/Value
Woolies owned Woolworths and Big Fresh....
Now it is just Woolies and Foodstuffs (split North and South)
Just encourage Costco to expand in the NI and the difference would be instant.
To Anon @1:22PM - your comment -[quote] " and I suspect there would be severe pushback from the very well heeled incumbents.." [end quote] - is ' on the button'.
Many years ago Stephen Tindal/ Warehouse started the journey to open supermarkets, across NZ under the warehouse Brand.
His HQ is on the Northshore, so Hie idea got as far as The Harbour Bridge and ' died in the Waitemata '.
Our NZ MSM media reported that, The Warehouse had ' run into a brick wall from the 2 main players'.
Note that Woolworths is owned by the Australian parent co, who at the time, of above, did not want any opposing other party in the trade.
Not sure who ' owns Foodstuffs ' as all their supermarkets - New World & Pak & Save, superettes - 4Square are all operated under a Franchise arrangement with a license holder of each business.
The Warehouse currently offer limited product - in The Red Sheds - but are not [currently] interested in reviewing previous supermarket concepts. Have other, more pressing issues.
The only option would be to entice Aldi, in Australia, to ' cross the ditch ', but I wonder if they would, due to the RMA requirements/consents, local Council By Laws and opposition from the ' big 2 ' and any NZ patriot.
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