CC Supermarkets Inquiry – Emerging Thinking Published

The Competition Commission has today published its "emerging thinking" in its review of the UK grocery sector. Local markets across the UK will be the focus of the investigation going forward.

While the CC has yet not reached any conclusions, and the emerging thinking is described as a "progress report", certain issues are highlighted:

• Supply chain – no clear evidence that supermarket buyer power is reducing innovation but a feeling that the CC has less specific evidence regarding the supermarkets’ power and activities than the CC would have expected;

• Land banks/planning – to date the emphasis has been on gathering information. The CC is now moving to the analysis stage. It has received conflicting evidence on the effect of planning controls;