Waitrose has admitted it is guilty of signing deals with landlords to block other supermarkets from opening nearby, following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The upscale supermarket, owned by the John Lewis Partnership, has been putting a stop to rival supermarkets opening in the local area for the past decade.
The CMA’s investigation ruled that the non-competitive land agreements breached competition legislation, after Waitrose confirmed breaching the rules at seven of its store locations.
The property deals in question – which related to the Bromsgrove, Rustington, Swindon, Daventry, Chester, Notting Hill Gate and Market Harborough stores – were signed between 2010 and 2019, as Waitrose sought to allay competition concerns.
Waitrose has agreed to remove the restrictions from land agreements which had previously prevented rivals from setting up new stores.
The news was initially revealed after a 2020 CMA investigation found that Tesco had “unlawfully” leaned on landlords, encouraging them not to rent nearby sites to rivals. The CMA went on to investigate Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, M&S and the Co-op to ensure they had not committed similar breaches.
“It’s disappointing that Waitrose has acted against the interests of shoppers, despite these rules having been in place for over 10 years,” said the CMA’s senior director of remedies, Adam Land.
“Families across the UK are facing the rising cost of living. Preventing other supermarkets from opening new stores could stop people saving on their weekly shop.
“Waitrose is now putting this right so that everyone gets a fair deal. We will continue to take action when our rules are broken, and we have asked all supermarkets to show us their land deals comply with the order.”
A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We’ve identified and addressed a small number of historic errors, but don’t believe we’ve enforced these to stop new shops opening.
All of these branches are closely surrounded by other supermarkets, offering plenty of choice for customers. We’ve worked closely with the CMA and have now strengthened our internal processes.”
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My local Waitrose Supermarket closed around three years ago and the building has remained empty. It would make a great Aldi, so perhaps this explains why they haven’t taken it.