Asda: Sainsbury's

(asked on 28th June 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take to support suppliers and consumer choice after the merger of Sainsbury’s and Asda.


Answered by
Andrew Griffiths Portrait
Andrew Griffiths
This question was answered on 5th July 2018

Direct suppliers to Sainsbury’s and Asda are already covered by the Groceries Supply Code of Practice and benefit from the work of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to ensure they are treated lawfully and fairly. They will continue to be protected by the Code and the Adjudicator should the proposed merger go ahead.

Under the Enterprise Act 2002 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have the powers to investigate, independently of Government, whether mergers raise competition issues that could have an impact on consumer choice. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has written to the Chief Executive of the CMA to express his view that, when assessing the proposed merger of Sainsbury’s and ASDA, the CMA should consider the possible impact on the supply chain.

The Government will continue to monitor closely this proposed merger.

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