Morrisons calls for relaxed competition laws during coronavirus crisis

The grocer’s boss David Potts and chief operating officer Trevor Strain have called on Westminster to remove the “handbrake” of legislation in certain areas to allow retailers to “work together” and “feed the nation” during the outbreak.

Morrisons said like-for-like sales in the first six weeks of its new financial year jumped 5% as consumers stocked up on products such as toilet roll, soap, rice and pasta.

Like many of its grocery rivals, Morrisons has started rationing more than 1,200 lines in a bid to ensure a continuity of supply on its shelves.

But Potts and Strain suggested there is more that could be done by the government to help food retailers serve all their customers, including elderly and vulnerable members of society.

“We have asked, where competition law can act as a handbrake, [for it] to be reviewed,” Potts said.

“There is legislation around competition that works perfectly well in peacetime, not so well in wartime. We want to see cohesive communication from the industry through the British Retail Consortium, through ourselves as a team, in order for the government to play its part in listening hard and responding quickly wherever possible from their end.

“It’s not an ‘either-or’ as to whether individual companies move forward doing the best work they can. It’s very much an ‘and’. We do our very best work as Morrisons, and then we give up ourselves to work with our competitors and other consumer-led industries to see how we can help the government make the right decisions. In many cases, we will be stronger together.”

Strain added: “The competition law framework is very clear. Specifically, I think it states there should be no communication between retailers around things like pricing, promotions, costs, market-sharing.

“But I think at a time of crisis when food supply is critical, our ask is a general one, rather than specific – that retailers should be enabled to work together, where necessary, to get the essentials to stores and to some of the vulnerable in their homes.

“The industry is united by its difference and, by working with parties such as the BRC and with the government as appropriate, we believe that is the right way forward so that everyone can play their full part in feeding the nation.”

Strain said there were other “practical measures” that could be taken to help grocers serve customers and ensure continuity of supply.

He cited lifting delivery restrictions as a good example of a shift that has helped supermarket chains “do a better job of serving customers” during the coronavirus pandemic.

Strain said: “There will be other practical areas where it may be possible for relaxations to come forward in the coming days, whether that be things like driver hours to increase capacity in the distribution network, whether it be the maximum weight you are allowed to have on a home-delivery vehicle so you can serve as many people, particularly those who are self-isolating.

“We have committed to pay people when they are off and fall on the side of colleagues in all circumstances by allowing them to work hours back at a later date if they need to support either their family or the vulnerable in their community. But it’s possible that companies could end up breaching some technicality around the National Minimum Wage legislation.

“Obviously, we’d want things like that to be reviewed because we want to be a responsible employer, play our part in feeding the nation, but also comply with the law.

“We are looking for measures that are practical, that will enable retailers to do their best work, and also support the economy.”