Foodstuffs South Island responds to market study government policy announcement
Government has confirmed the actions it plans to take in response to the Commerce Commission’s final report on the Market Study into the retail grocery sector.
Foodstuffs South Island have been actively engaged in the Market Study process, working constructively with the Commission and MBIE, and actioning several initiatives that improve the shopping experience for our customers, says Mary Devine, Chief Executive, Foodstuffs South Island.
“We’ve been proactively actioning initiatives that provide greater transparency on pricing and promotions, ensuring clarity for our customers on what specific value is being offered to assist their shopping decisions, and the introduction of a more standardised approach to unit pricing. These will all provide an informative addition for customers to compare product options.”Foodstuffs South Island is also supportive of the Commerce Commission’s recommendation to free up land through planning law reform, says Devine.
“While government progresses the legislative process on land covenants, we’re actively taking steps to remove the restrictive land covenants that are in place.”
Since the Commerce Commission’s final report on the Market Study into the retail grocery sector came out in March, Foodstuffs South Island has continued to actively engage with Government to support the development of an industry code of conduct.
“We genuinely believe this is a positive move for our industry and we look forward to continuing to progress this,” says Devine.
Foodstuffs South Island also supports the establishment of a specialist grocery regulator to monitor compliance with the Code and undertake effective enforcement action where appropriate.
We also support the Governments direction that there is an active wholesale market and we’re committed to engaging in a positive and constructive manner.
“South Islanders have trusted us to deliver on our responsibilities to our customers for nearly 100 years,” says Devine. “The market study on the grocery industry and the outcomes that follow are an important reminder Foodstuffs South Island plays a significant role in our communities and comes with a level of responsibility we haven’t and would never take for granted.”
“With the rise in the cost of living it’s never been more important for us to work hard to deliver value to mainlanders, we continue to do this in everything we do, in our efficiencies, how we buy and in meaningful initiatives like our recent Price Rollback which has delivered significant value to our customers on the products that matter the most in South Island households.”
“We know we have a responsibility throughout the South Island to our communities and will continue to ensure via our Foodstuffs South Island Community Trust and Here for NZ programmes, remain committed to making a difference.”