UK: Consumer is the winner (Tesco)

Tesco Chief Executive, Terry Leahy, said;"The Secretary of State and the Commission are right that the industry is highly competitive and the consumer is the winner. That is certainly the Tesco experience.I am clearly very satisfied that after this unprecedented scrutiny of our industry the Competition Commission and Secretary of State have concluded that the industry is broadly competitive, that excessive prices are not being charged nor excessive profits earned. In particular I welcome the Secretary of State's conclusion that a competitive market is the best way of securing a good deal for customers, that the inquiry has found the industry to be competitive and that as a result he has accepted the Competition Commission's recommendations.At Tesco we have always maintained that the market is toughly competitive and that our customers have consistently benefited from this.The proposal that there should be a code of practice for relations between supermarkets and suppliers is one that I welcome. Indeed we have led the way in supporting a code of practice."