AUSTRALIAN COMMITTEE WILL NOT CAP RETAILER MARKET SHARE

SYDNEY, Australia (FNS) -- Australian regulatory authorities have rejected calls to restrict the market share of the big supermarket chains in order to protect small retailers.

should be no cap to the control of the market by any of the major chains, such as Woolworths, Coles or Franklins.

The smaller retailers had demanded that the market share of the bigger companies be sliced from about 80% to as low as 25%.

The cap would have forced Woolworths to lose a third of its stores and Coles, Australia's largest private-sector employer, to lose nearly 100 outlets.

The committee also recommended that the government watchdog Australian Consumer and Competition Commission adopt a more forceful role, including greater scrutiny with greater powers to prosecute.

The committee also wanted the supermarket chains to be more visible in the local communities and wanted more disclosure in contracts with primary producers.

It also struck a blow for the protection of small grocers by cracking down on anti-competitive predatory practices by big retailers.