Supermarkets stretching the spirit of the law

Supermarkets are increasingly stretching the letter and spirit of the law when it comes to selling alcohol, at times, even blatantly breaking agreements they made with Parliament before the passing of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989. Bruce Roberston.

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Progressive Enterprises, one of the New Zealand’s major supermarket chains, has recently applied for full liquor licences to sell beer, wine and spirits from premises in Christchurch, Lower Hutt and Porirua.

This contradicts the submissions and commitment supermarkets gave to Parliament prior to receiving permission to sell beer and wine – that beer and wine, as accompaniments to food, should also be available from supermarkets.

Progressive is now pushing to begin also selling spirits in what would constitute a store within a store. In effect, this means achieving a full off-licence – something contrary to the spirit and policy of the Sale of Liquor Act.

The application will be considered by the Liquor Licensing Authority, which will decide just what constitutes a separate retail operation and whether a store within a store meets Parliament’s wishes.

At the time the Act was passed in 1989, Parliament explicitly disallowed supermarkets from selling spirits.

Another way supermarkets are flouting their original promises to Parliament is by using alcohol as a loss leader, that is, selling it at a loss to entice customers into their stores. This is something they said they would not do.

Now, both main supermarket chains, Progressive Enterprises and Foodstuffs, are using price as a key weapon to enhance market share. Each week, flyers in letterboxes announce the latest price discounts on beer and wine, blatantly breaking the rules under which they said they’d operate.

Perhaps it’s time for Parliament to look again at the way supermarkets operate and their pricing strategies.

And more broadly, by changing the rules of the game so thoroughly, supermarkets have invited politicians to revisit the law to ensure its original intent is being upheld – that supermarkets may sell beer and wine in a responsible way as an adjunct to food products.

• Bruce Robertson is the Chief Executive of the Hospitality Association of New Zealand.