Aldi and Woolworths accused by the ACCC of misusing grocery code

Catie Low
September 24, 2015
The Age

The competition watchdog has accused Woolworths and ALDI of using the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct to limit negotiations over new supply agreements.
ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the aim of the code was to redress the imbalance in bargaining power between suppliers and large grocery retailers by “prohibiting certain types of unfair conduct.”
“The ACCC has concerns as to the manner in which some retailers, in particular Woolworths and ALDI are presenting new Grocery Supply Agreements (GSAs) which might give the impression that the supplier is not able to negotiate the terms of the GSA,” Mr Sims said.
“The ACCC is also concerned about the low level of detail provided in some GSAs about the circumstances in which certain payments may arise.”
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has revealed it is investigating the way some grocery operations are implementing the code, which only took effect in June.
The Code forces retailers to draw up code-compliant supply agreements but the ACCC said suppliers should not feel compelled to sign these contracts.
ALDI was the first of the big supermarkets to sign up to the voluntary code in June followed by Coles and Woolworths in July.
Woolworths and ALDI have been contacted for comment.
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