Tesco town, tunnels and Twinklers flashing toothbrushes - just some of the issues addressed by Tesco in its latest submissions to the Competition Commission groceries market inquiry.
In a bid to tell its side of the story, the supermarket has, in two documents, produced direct responses to numerous anti-Tesco comments published on the Commission's website.
It refuted a claim by Bestway that it effectively bought planning permission for the Gerrards Cross development. The site hit the headlines in June 2005 when the rail tunnel underneath a Tesco development caved in. "We did not 'pay our way' to get planning permission for this site," said Tesco. "It is incorrect to allege that planning permission was granted on this basis."
Danny Alexander, MP for Inverness - the original 'Tesco town' - urged the Commission to look carefully at the causes of Tesco's local dominance in his submission. But Tesco claimed the only reason it was dominant was that Sainsbury's and Asda showed no interest in the town until recently.
Alexander also suggested supermarkets used buying power to stop local shops stocking certain products - and cited Twinklers flashing toothbrushes as an example. The city's Poundland originally sold the toothbrushes for £1, but now Inverness consumers could only get them at Tesco for £1.97, he said.
Tesco argued the £1 version was crude and its version was better quality. "There is no truth in the suggestion we have in any way prevented Twinklers toothbrushes being sold through smaller retailers," it said.
n The Competition Commission will now publish its 'emerging thinking' in January, and not this month as previously stated.
In a bid to tell its side of the story, the supermarket has, in two documents, produced direct responses to numerous anti-Tesco comments published on the Commission's website.
It refuted a claim by Bestway that it effectively bought planning permission for the Gerrards Cross development. The site hit the headlines in June 2005 when the rail tunnel underneath a Tesco development caved in. "We did not 'pay our way' to get planning permission for this site," said Tesco. "It is incorrect to allege that planning permission was granted on this basis."
Danny Alexander, MP for Inverness - the original 'Tesco town' - urged the Commission to look carefully at the causes of Tesco's local dominance in his submission. But Tesco claimed the only reason it was dominant was that Sainsbury's and Asda showed no interest in the town until recently.
Alexander also suggested supermarkets used buying power to stop local shops stocking certain products - and cited Twinklers flashing toothbrushes as an example. The city's Poundland originally sold the toothbrushes for £1, but now Inverness consumers could only get them at Tesco for £1.97, he said.
Tesco argued the £1 version was crude and its version was better quality. "There is no truth in the suggestion we have in any way prevented Twinklers toothbrushes being sold through smaller retailers," it said.
n The Competition Commission will now publish its 'emerging thinking' in January, and not this month as previously stated.
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