Dear John,
You’ve probably noticed that grocery prices in New Zealand still feel high even though we have brought inflation down and got the economy growing again - it was confirmed today that our economy grew 2.6% in the year to June.
A big reason for high grocery prices is a lack of competition, with just two major supermarket groups. The profit margins on every trip you take to a New Zealand supermarket chain is about double what it is in other countries.
One of National’s core values is competitive enterprise. More competition means supermarket chains have to work harder for every customer. That’s how Kiwi shoppers get a better deal. And there simply isn’t enough competition right now.
That is why, if re-elected, National will pursue a separation of PAK’nSAVE and New World/Four Square to create more competition between supermarket chains.
Independent analysis estimates this split could save households $560 a year on average on their grocery bill.
There is a very high bar for this intervention, so we will direct the Commerce Commission to make an independent assessment of whether separation stacks up for shoppers before proceeding.
For your local supermarket owner-operators, nothing much changes. They will still own their stores and operate under the same name, but they’ll be more competitive for customers. That helps them too because it means more opportunities to grow their business.
Competition is also a big opportunity for suppliers. More competition means local growers and producers have more options about where to supply and more leverage to negotiate better terms from supermarkets wanting to secure and keep their product.
National’s plan is to give Kiwis a fairer deal at the checkout, while protecting local ownership of the stores.
