As of March 28th, 2024, the grace period for regulated grocery retailers under the new grocery legislation has ended. The grace period meant that by the end of the day, RGRs should have offered Grocery Code-compliant supply agreements to existing suppliers.
The RGRs have reissued its GSA/GSC agreements following feedback from the Grocery Commissioner and NZFGC. The revised contract has indicated why there is a recommended change to the agreement, and was send to all suppliers, including those who had already signed up. All suppliers have had the opportunity to consider whether to sign or negotiate.
There was no requirement for suppliers to have signed by the end of March 28the responsibility of the regulated grocery retailer to have made the offer. The Grocery Commissioner also said suppliers shouldn’t feel obligated or pressured to sign any offers from regulated grocery retailers. After the 28th of March, provisions of the Code will apply irrespective of what is in the agreement, except to the extent that suppliers agree to contract out of the Code, where permitted.
Ensuring supplier protections of the Code have remained, and are not contracted outside of unless supplier benefit is crucial to ensure the success of the grocery legislation, have been priorities of the Commissioner.
Some suppliers have received various store-level agreements and commercial terms from several stores, and some even reported receiving increasingly more of these in the 48 hours leading up to March 28th. The Commissioner reassured suppliers that there was no need to panic and that there had been no legal requirement for suppliers to have signed any of the documents by the end of the 28th.
Suppliers have been urged to consider the ‘hierarchy of documents’, which has comprised a full suite of agreements with the RGR. What is agreed on in the head office GSA agreement should precede what is in the store-level agreements.
The Grocery Commissioner is expected to make further statements following the end of the grace period.
To read more latest news, click here.
