Retailers in the UK have responded to Chancellor John Healey's recent warning regarding profiteering, asserting their commitment to keeping food prices down during the ongoing Iran war. Mr Healey stated at the weekend that the Treasury is prepared to act against any retailers exploiting the Middle East conflict to increase prices.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents major UK retailers including Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Asda, has pushed back against the Chancellor's comments. Jim Bligh, the BRC's corporate affairs director, told City AM that it is unhelpful to label retailers as potential profiteers, given that retail is one of the UK's lowest-margin industries.
Mr Bligh also suggested that the Chancellor risks an industry backlash if he proceeds with plans to address “price gouging.” He indicated that the BRC would continue to demonstrate the strength of competition to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to prove there is no profiteering. Andrew Opie, the BRC's director of food, highlighted that the government's independent competition regulator has repeatedly found that fierce competition, rather than government intervention, has kept food prices as low as possible.
The trade body referenced three consecutive reports by the CMA, which concluded there was no evidence of profiteering among British grocers. Food inflation has recently decreased, reaching 1.7 per cent in June, despite earlier concerns that the Iran war could lead to a surge in supermarket prices.