Co-op admits to blocking rivals from opening nearby stores

(Sharecast News) - The Competition and Markets Authority said on Wednesday that the Co-op has admitted to 107 breaches of an order put in place to stop the blocking of rivals from opening nearby stores. The watchdog found that the supermarket chain, which owns almost 2,400 stores across the UK, breached the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010.

The order was introduced to stop supermarkets imposing restrictions that block rivals from opening competing stores nearby.

"By ensuring supermarkets compete freely, the CMA is ensuring that shoppers have more choice and so benefit from a wider range of groceries and access to cheaper prices," it said.

The CMA said it was concerned that this "substantial" number of breaches shows a significant failure of compliance for a business of Co-op's size.

Having already addressed 104 agreements, Co-op has also agreed to resolve the remaining three.

Daniel Turnbull, senior director of markets at the CMA, said: "Restrictive agreements by our leading retailers affect competition between supermarkets and impact shoppers trying to get the best deals.

"We know that Co-op has made a considerable effort to amend all their unlawful agreements, given this order has been in place since 2010. Co-op and the other designated retailers must make sure they do the right thing by their customers in the future."

The Co-op holds a 5.2% market share in the UK's £190.9bn supermarket industry.