Supie Founder Sarah Balle spoke to Susie Ferguson at Morning Report on Thursday, expressing her concerns with the Government's new plan to regulate grocery wholesale.
"We are very skeptical that it will actually deliver better prices at the checkout for Kiwis. Just opening up wholesale supply doesn't actually provide that meaningful competition that we need in the market to provide meaningful pressure on the duopoly," said Balle.
"Even if we did have the same prices for every retailer... It would drive up prices suppliers would have to charge to retailers. The ability for them to supply to the major retailers in pallets vs them supplying to small independent retailers is so different. Those costs increase, and that burden gets placed on suppliers."
"This should only be viewed as a short to medium-term solution to immediately help the Night'n Days, independent retailers that currently have to line up in Pak'nSaves to get their stock with the rest of us as shoppers."
"We need meaningful competition, and that means a third or fourth player in the market because the dairy and convenience stores and other fringe retailers - that we already have in the market - don't have the market share that provides meaningful competition."
