The Proudfoot Group has cried foul play over Tesco's use of deep discounting to push its Withernsea store out of business, and claims it is not alone. In January Harry Tuffins claimed the retailer was trying to sabotage the opening of its Ludlow store by conducting a leaflet drop over a 10-mile radius of the town offering local shoppers £10 off their bill when they spent £30. Two vouchers were included in the door drop - one for the two weeks before the opening and another for two weeks after. Tesco claimed the timing was an unfortunate coincidence and its impact on the Tuffins store proved to be minimal. Tuffins said the publicity generated by the Tesco move actually helped its store, with sales of about £55,000 in the opening week. The Proudfoot Group wasn't as lucky and sold its Withernsea store earlier this year, claiming it could not compete with Tesco's voucher scheme, which offered consumers an £8 discount for every £20 they spent. It has called on the Competition Commission to review its interpretation of predatory pricing and joint MDs Mark and Ian Proudfoot have been outspoken about the "unfair practice". "There aren't many people who feel they are capable of speaking out in the independent sector, so it's important for those who can to do it," says Mark Proudfoot. His brother Ian has criticised the definition that predatory pricing involves deep discounts followed by price rises above normal levels once a rival has gone out of business. He says there is no need for a multiple to potentially ruin its reputation as a cheap supermarket. The company wants the Commission to consider whether it thinks isolated below-cost selling by the multiples, which is subsidised by the rest of its profits, should be stopped, especially as the multiples tend to already offer the lowest prices on key grocery items.

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