Suppliers argue Coles and Woolworths’ demands unfairly help private label push

The former chief executive of a major supermarket supplier says Coles and Woolworths could be using the sensitive market information they demand from manufacturers to make their own private label products more successful.
In a practice the competition watchdog has vowed to keep an eye on, the two supermarket giants ask suppliers to justify wholesale price hikes by submitting detailed information about the cost of their raw materials and input expenses.
Suppliers are concerned that the arrangement gives sensitive market information to de facto competitors, because the supermarkets make home-brand products that compete side by side with their own, according to former Kellogg’s Australia and New Zealand chief executive Jean-Yves Heude. Sydney Morning Herald – Read more…