Owner-operators say the proposal misunderstands the nature of the co-operative model
Almost 500 New Zealand supermarket owner-operatorshave signed open letters expressing concern about proposals to force the break-up of the Foodstuffs co-operatives.
Multiple New Zealand political parties have pledged to break up the country’s supermarket duopoly ahead of the national election in November. Incumbent The New Zealand National Party has announced it will pursue the structural separation of Foodstuffs. Meanwhile, Labour has said it will force Woolworths and Foodstuffs to seperate their wholesale businesses.
Representing family-owned Pak’nSave, New World and Four Square stores across New Zealand, the signatories said the proposal raises significant questions about its actual impact on grocery prices for consumers, supply chain costs, regional communities and future investment in their family businesses.
The letters were signed by owner-operators from both the Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island co-operatives and reflect their concerns about the consequences of dismantling the century-old New Zealand co-operative model.
Foodstuffs North Island owner-operators said the proposal misunderstands the nature of the co-operative model and support structures, which are owned by the local grocers, and risks dismantling the scale, infrastructure and support systems that help keep stores operating efficiently.
Foodstuffs South Island owner-operators had similar concerns - that breaking apart the co-operative could increase costs, create uncertainty and undermine services relied on by many regional and remote rural communities.
Across both letters, the grocers said Foodstuffs co-operatives are owned by local supermarket operators, and the co-operative model provides shared buying power, logistics, technology and infrastructure that individual stores could not efficiently replicate on their own.
