Torquay, Paignton, Lancaster, Brighton and Kirkcaldy could become Sainsbury’s “monopoly” towns if its planned merger with Asda goes ahead, prompting MPs to demand action to protect local communities.
The proposed merger of the two supermarket chains will leave little or no major supermarket competition in the towns, opening the possibility of a local monopoly and a headache for competition authorities, which could order a sell-off but find no buyers.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is expected to carefully scrutinise Sainsbury’s planned £7.3bn takeover of Asda under which the latter’s US parent, Walmart, will become a major shareholder in the combined group.
MPs raised concerns that stores might close, putting local jobs at risk, or that communities might face price rises if all nearby supermarkets come under the control of one company.
“You only have to look how close the Asda and Sainsbury’s are in Torquay and Paignton, said Kevin Foster, the local MP. “It does raise concerns about how long a unified company would want to operate two stores. There is also the impact this has on the ability to choose where to shop. As it stands there are only five major supermarkets in Torquay in Paignton and four of them are owned by what would be a combined company.”
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
