Competition Commission and the big UK supermarkets
November 28, 2007
This is a hot topic for Module 4:Industrial Economics. The report was published at the very end of October 2007 and I think it could well be used by examiners in the near future. Probably January 2008 is too soon – but look out for it in June 2008! That’s a prediction. I can foresee questions on contestability, market dominance and the need for government regulation. We’ve seen it all before and this latest (4th) report from the CC has been controversial as it has mostly let Tesco, Asda et al off the hook. Read through the following articles for a flavour of the report itself (1st link) and reaction to it. Watch out for industry specific issues such as ‘landbanking’and ‘restrictive covenant land sales’. The last link – if it works – is to a video for you to watch.
http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/inquiries/ref2006/grocery/groceries_inquiry_news.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/nov/01/supermarkets
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2202704,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/nov/01/supermarkets.viewpointcolumn
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7070719.stm
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