A public hearing of the UK’s Competition Commission got underway today [Wednesday], with the parties interested in buying Safeway putting forward the case for why they should be allowed to acquire the UK supermarket chain.
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The UK’s number one supermarket chain, Tesco, promised to create thousands of jobs if it buys Safeway.
“We believe our acquisition of Safeway would lead to a net creation of 5,000 new jobs,” Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy was quoted by Reuters as saying. He added that Tesco was good at providing “local jobs for local people”.
Tesco and rival supermarket chains J Sainsbury, Wal-Mart’s Asda and William Morrison, along with retail entrepreneur Philip Green, have all expressed interest in acquiring some or all of Safeway.
Ken Morrison, chairman of Morrisons, the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket chain, said his company was loyal to its founding principle of low prices for everyone.
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By GlobalData“If we get Safeway we will take on the big three,” he said, referring to Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda.
The meeting will cover both local and national issues relating to the acquisition of Safeway, giving many interested parties, including supplier and consumer groups, a chance to have their say.
The National Farmers Union expressed its concerns about the future of the UK retail market. “The National Farmers Union would be gravely concerned if any deal resulted in the UK food retail market being further dominated by two main companies,” the union’s head of marketing Robin Tapper was quoted by Reuters as saying.
“A situation where two companies account for 50% of the retail food market would not be in (consumers’ or farmers’) interest.”
