UK government to introduce supermarket ombudsman
The UK government has today confirmed plans to introduce a supermarket ombudsman to monitor the relationship between supermarkets and their supplies to ensure there is no abuse of power. For many years there has been constant criticism of the supermarket industry with claims that suppliers are being pressurised to produce goods at wafer thin margins and are effectively at the beck and call of the supermarket industry.
The announcement today has been greeted with cheers and jeers with many believing the move will assist suppliers in their battle to maintain profit margins although there are concerns it could end up as a very expensive extra level of cost for the sector. There's no doubt that somebody somewhere will need to pay the cost of the supermarket ombudsman and ultimately this additional cost will be passed on to consumers at some stage. While the idea behind a supermarket ombudsman has good merit the UK government will need to be aware of the potential problems this may create.
There have been a number of investigations into the UK supermarket industry and the relationship with suppliers although ultimately no action has been taken and no regulations would seem to have been broken.
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