Consumer NZ hopes a year-long market study into New Zealand’s concentrated supermarket industry will “gauge the degree to which the stores’ market power is affecting how much consumers pay”. EDITORIAL: Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy has understandably been quick to welcome the announcement of a year-long “market study” into New Zealand’s unregulated supermarket industry by the Commerce Commission. “We need a wide-ranging investigation to gauge the degree to which the stores’ market power is affecting how much consumers pay,” he said on Tuesday. They do have a reference point, in the Commerce Commission inquiry into the retail fuel industry launched by the last Government, which reported back in 2019. However, a similar finding of a lack of competition in the supermarket industry would be a significant first step on the road to relief.

Source: Stuff November 17, 2020 15:56 UTC