Grocery mergers 'near impossible' says Coupe

摘要

Ex-Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe has slammed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for making supermarket chain mergers "almost impossible".Responding at the Savills, Tritax Symmetry and Analytiqa Logistics Spotlight virtual event last week to a question about the CMA blocking Sainsbury's attempted merger with Asda, he said: "I'm giad you brought that up, I'm famous for two things: one is singing on the TV and the other is failing to buy Asda."In effect, the CMA has made any form of grocery consolidation almost impossible unless they rewrite the rules. You could argue they have made any form of retail consolidation very difficult now,"However, he added, the CMA could soften its stance in light of the challenges currently facing the retail sector.