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August 12, 2005
Somerfield unhappy with Competition Comission
Supermarket group Somerfield has expressed concern about the Competition Commission’s provisional report on its £260m takeover of 115 Safeway stores from rival Morrisons.
The Commission said that the takeover would result in a “substantial lessening of competion” in 14 towns, meaning that Somerfield could be forced to sell the stores to rivals.
According to Somerfield, the Commission acted on a "theoretical possibility" that the retailer would behave in such a way as to harm competition. In a statement it said "Somerfield considers that CC has merely identified a potential lessening of competition and labelled it significant, presuming that adverse effects will follow".
Somerfield said the competition concerns were unjustified because many of the stores in question were located near other retailers such as Asda and Tesco.
Christopher Clarke, chairman of the Competition Commission inquiry said: "We believe the only effective means of restoring competition in these areas is for the identified stores to be sold to a suitable grocery retailer who will offer choice and actively complete in the relevant local markets".
Posted by at August 12, 2005 06:59 PM
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