Wholesale Supply Inquiry

The Grocery Industry Competition Act (the Act) establishes a wholesale supply regime that creates obligations on the regulated grocery retailers (RGRs) - Woolworths NZ, Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island - to set up systems to facilitate wholesale supply to other grocery retailers. 

This is intended to make it easier for businesses to enter the grocery retailer market and to support the growth of existing grocery retailers. To date, access to products for new or competing retailers has not improved sufficiently, either through RGRs’ wholesale offerings or direct supply. 

In its current form, the wholesale supply regime is unlikely to be promoting the purpose of Part 3 of the Act. On 4 September 2024 we commenced an Inquiry under section 56 of the Act, which enables us to consider if additional regulation is needed. 

On 5 June 2025 we published our Preliminary Findings Paper which found that:  

• With limited or no access to promotional funding from suppliers, competing retailers cannot match the promotional offers made by the RGRs, which makes it difficult to compete on price. 
• The RGR wholesale supply regime is not having a material impact at present. 
• Behaviour change is required by RGRs and suppliers to enable effective wholesale supply. 
• Our preliminary view is that we likely have enough evidence to meet the threshold required by the Act to impose or recommend additional regulation. 
• The least cost alternative to additional regulation is for the parties to change their behaviour by changing their wholesale offerings to meet our expectations, especially regarding competitive pricing and comprehensive range. 

Industry participants have a period to voluntarily enact change 

Suppliers and RGRs have an opportunity to change their behaviour to meet our expectations. Our view is that industry-led behaviour change is the quickest and most efficient way to address wholesale supply issues without needing to impose additional regulation. 

To allow time for industry to enact these changes our Preliminary Findings Paper issued in June 2025 extended the timeframes of the Inquiry by a year. 

We are now seeking to understand the range of actions industry participants have taken or may be willing to take to support a more effective and competitive wholesale market. 

These actions – whether characterised as commitments or otherwise – will be considered alongside other relevant factors as we assess the potential impact of industry action.

If, as an industry participant, you are willing and able to share actions or commitments via email to grocery.regulation@comcom.govt.nz by Friday 29 May this would assist us in reflecting your actions in the next output for the Wholesale Supply Inquiry, the Draft Inquiry Report. We also note that there will be an opportunity to provide input during the consultation period on the Draft Report.

There is no required format for providing information on actions or commitments to us. However, in response to feedback we have prepared some guidance and examples to support thinking. These examples are illustrative only and can be adapted as appropriate. Industry participants remain responsible for determining and managing their own actions or commitments – there is no regulatory requirement to provide them.

Please contact us at grocery.regulation@comcom.govt.nz  if you have any further questions about the Wholesale Supply Inquiry process.