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I am an employee of J Sainsbury, a shop steward and an elected member of the Usdaw Executive Council. The UK's competition and procurement authority needs to look at the benefits of large UK companies for customers and staff, as well as for the economy.
There are parallels between the J Sainsbury / Asda badociation proposal (February 21) and the BA-British Caledonian merger of 1987 to compete with American Airlines. However, this objective was compromised by the transfer of slots imposed by the Monopoly Commission and the mergers of the time. This led to job losses. Harming a wealth-creating sector is detrimental to the national economy.
Aldi and Lidl have accumulated significant economies of scale over the decades. The purpose of the Sainsbury-Asda rapprochement is to match these forces. I therefore hope that the CMA will learn from the 1987 case and refrain from imposing divestments.
For customers, the merger means lower prices and more outlets using loyalty cards. For employees, it means more stores from the same company. This is useful if, for example, a staff member has to move to another part of the country. Divestments will undermine these positive aspects, as well as jobs in department stores and distribution networks. Again, this would undermine the wealth-creating private sector and the British economy.
The CMA must give up its dislike for big business. These are necessary for customers and employees, as well as to be able to compete with larger foreign rivals, whether it is German or American Airlines discount chains. .
John Barstow
Pulborough, West Susbad, United Kingdom
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