In the UK, the Guardian reports this morning that five major supermarket chains – Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, William Morrison Supermarkets and Safeway – have been charged by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) of colluding with each other over the prices of milk, butter and cheese. A number of dairy processors also have been charged.
"Businesses should understand that where we find evidence of this kind of anti-competitive activity we will use the powers at our disposal to punish the companies involved and to deter other businesses from taking such actions,” says OFT director Sean Williams. Other sources at OFT tell the Guardian that they have a large amount of “robust evidence” and that the chains face "significant penalties” that could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
However, the chains all have denied the allegations and have promised to mount a “vigorous defense.”
"Businesses should understand that where we find evidence of this kind of anti-competitive activity we will use the powers at our disposal to punish the companies involved and to deter other businesses from taking such actions,” says OFT director Sean Williams. Other sources at OFT tell the Guardian that they have a large amount of “robust evidence” and that the chains face "significant penalties” that could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
However, the chains all have denied the allegations and have promised to mount a “vigorous defense.”
- KC's View:
