Supermarket squeeze

The Australian supermarket environment is subject to unfair competition, according to the Master Grocers Association. It claims that the major supermarket chains are misusing their market power by “constructing and operating over-large supermarkets in small local markets”.

Achieving organic growth for a niche supermarket is difficult, the director of Jones the Grocer, John Manos, says. It has responded by going global. “Jones was difficult to scale [in Australia],” he says.

Having expanded aggressively internationally, the company is refocusing on Australia. In July, the company acquired the Becasse Group in Sydney, which has four outlets. Two of those will be closed and one Jones the Grocer store opened in their stead.

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