Supermarkets can continue selling cheap booze

The Competition Commission has ruled that the below cost selling of alcohol and other goods is not having "significant unintended effects" on smaller businesses.

Its provisional findings on the groceries market ignore fears in the on-trade that supermarket alcohol retail is undermining its sales and encouraging under-age and socially responsible drinking.

The report said: "Below-cost selling by national retailers is not part of a predatory strategy aimed at convenience stores or specialist stores and is not having significant unintended effects on smaller stores."

Clive Davenport, trade and industry chairman at the Federation of Small Business, hit back at the findings: "The specialist retailers and independent stores that offer consumers real alternatives are suffering from the anti-competitive practices of the supermarkets. The Competition Commission's latest report does nothing to address this."

In August the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) cited Competition Commission research stating that the big four supermarkets (Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrison's) sold £112.7m of beer, wines and spirits below cost during the football World Cup last year.

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By Christopher Walton

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