From today Foodstuffs is set to lower and freeze prices on around 100 items in its stores across New Zealand. The grocery giant’s North Island boss says the move is “not just marketing”.
Foodstuffs, which includes the New World, Pak'nSave and Four Square chains, last Wednesday said it was reducing the price of 110 items to 2021 prices in light of inflation hitting 6.9%.
The price reduction will see some frozen and fresh fruit and vegetables, some butter and cheeses, and some nappies and soap with lower price tags.
Foodstuffs North Island CEO Chris Quin told Breakfast on Monday, "this makes a difference to the food bill that people will pay at our stores at Pak'nSave, New World and Four Square today."
READ MORE: Supermarket price wars: Foodstuffs reduces prices on 110 items
The move from Foodstuffs comes after rival supermarket change Countdown earlier this month announced it will freeze the price of over 500 essentials for winter.
In March a Commerce Commission study found competition in the supermarket sector wasn't working well for consumers.
The key issue the Commerce Commission said it found is that competitors wanting to enter the grocery market face significant challenges as Foodstuffs and Woolworths have a combined 90% share of New Zealand's grocery market.
Quin said there's duopoly in the grocery market due to New Zealand's size.
"Look I think in a country of five million you get models where there is often two large and many hundreds of small players and that's what we have in the food industry."
READ MORE: Countdown price freeze 'admission' of role in food crisis - Consumer NZ
Quin said he feels Foodstuffs "compete everyday with a number of competitors in every community and every region and our owners talk about that all the time in terms of what they're doing to earn the business of the customers."
He said, "our mission is to have food prices rising slower than all the other costs that are going on in this economy right now."
Quin says he believes lower prices will make a difference.
"Even on those top five or 10 items that are most commonly bought, it is 20% cheaper today, so if they [customers] go into our stores and look for rollback logos, they'll see where those products are and they can make the choice if that suits their needs which will help."
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