Asda said it has been “reassured” by the Competition Commission that including overseas suppliers in the new Grocery Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) will not be unnecessarily burdensome, as it makes an apparent about turn on its earlier stance.
Asda made headlines earlier this year when anti-poverty pressure group ActionAid spotted its objection to their inclusion in the code, in submissions made by the retailer on the commission’s website.
“This was never about ethics,” said a spokesman for Asda. “It was about whether including overseas suppliers in the code would add an unnecessary burden of bureaucracy. But we have been reassured by the commission that this will not be the case.”
He added that the fact that submissions made by the retailers to the commission were published on its website during the inquiry meant that any interaction between Asda and the commission was effectively carried out in the public domain, and could be seized upon by the company’s detractors. “If people want to say we have made a U-turn by dropping our opposition, we are broad-shouldered enough to take that.”
Meanwhile, talk of Asda acting as a whistle-blower in the Office of Fair Trading probe into price-fixing of frozen food and toiletry items has been greeted by a “no comment” response from the store.
Asda’s spokesman told freshinfo the investigation could last years, and it would be inappropriate for the retailer to get dragged into any speculation, as it is still extremely early days for this latest probe.
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