supermarkets to claim almost a third of week one sales on some titles (MCV
2/12), and now the Office of Fair Trading is expected to make a decision on
whether to kickstart a Competition Commission-led investigation into the
supermarkets’ pricing practices in April.
Rory Taylor of the Competition Commission spoke to MCV about the price cuts:
“This sounds like below-cost selling. We made some recommendations in our
2000 report based on what we think are practices that act against the
consumers’ interests, so it’s something the OFT is looking into at the
moment.
“What you might have is an abuse of a dominant position, and if this is
proven they could be fined 10 per cent of their annual turnover.”
But indies are looking at a long wait. “It is something that is very
difficult to pin on someone. It will take at least another 12 to 15 months,”
added Taylor.
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