by Richard Prebble

New Zealand does not have the world’s most concentrated supermarket market.

Woolworths and Foodstuffs have about 82% of the New Zealand market.

In Finland, S Group and Kesko have 82.5%.

Finland is an OECD country. It has its own competition authority. The European Commission also oversees competition.

Yet neither the Finnish competition authority nor the EC has proposed breaking up the existing supermarket businesses or separating their wholesale and retail operations.

At Finland’s 2023 election, no major party campaigned to break up S Group or Kesko or to separate their wholesale and retail operations.

Perhaps we should ask a simple question before we break up a very successful New Zealand-owned co-operative.

What do the Finns know that we don’t?

Originally published on I've Been Thinking.