Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The Commerce Commission reckons we need fewer items 'on sale' at the supermarket.  That would mean less yoghurt on special at $4.99, fewer $1.99 chocolate bars at the checkout, and just less price yo-yo-ing in general. This is counterintuitive. The job of Commerce Commission, through the Grocery Commissioner, is meant to score us cheaper prices and boost competition, right? So, what the hell is going on here? This morning, they announced they want to change the rules around what the supermarkets can charge suppliers. Foodstuffs and Woolworths purchase $15 billion of goods from suppliers each year and control 82% of the retail market.  When they do this, suppliers will discount prices by about $5 billion a year through rebates, discounts, and promotional payments. This ensures their stock is on sale. If they need to move a boat load of it, they can do on special and quickly, because we all love a bargain. The Supermarket tsar says if you’re a new, smaller supermarket chain opening up, you can’t compe