Bosses face a grilling

Supermarkets inquiry to hear from sector heavyweights

The heat around the Senate inquiry into supermarkets will ratchet up significantly in coming days as some of the nation’s most powerful food and grocery bosses, including from Woolworths and Coles, appear before a public hearing to be grilled by senators.

German discounter Aldi, supermarket and liquor wholesaler Metcash and Dan Murphy’s owner Endeavour Group will kick off the week of appearances on Thursday, while on “super Tuesday” next week Woolworths boss Brad Banducci and Coles boss Leah Weckert will have their turns to defend their supermarkets as they face hours of questions from the Greens-led inquiry.

The Senate inquiry, which has already heard from farmers, food and grocery suppliers and farming industry groups at its initial round of public hearings, will next Tuesday have its most anticipated guests yet appearing at public hearings in Canberra – with the whole day set aside to interrogate the Woolworths and Coles bosses.

Unlike recent public hearings held by the Senate inquiry into supermarkets, which have typically hosted a handful of witnesses on a day, the inquiry will have only two people attend on Tuesday – Mr Banducci and Ms Weckert – who will both have just short of three hours each of questions, comments and quite possibly “gotcha” moments from the senators.

Mr Banducci will be up first to begin giving his testimony and answering questions from 9am through to 12.15pm, with a short break. Ms Weckert will then answer questions from 1pm to 4.15pm with a similar break halfway through.

It is expected to be a fiery and prickly day of testimony as the senators grill both supermarket bosses about the market power of the majors, with earlier evidence from farmers and suppliers raising a number of concerns.

Already the senators have been told by farmers and farming groups of unfair treatment and brutal conditions imposed by the supermarkets, ranging from supply volume deals and pricing to the way the chains can reject perishable food, with warnings that the viability of family-owned farms is in danger.

But before the senators question Mr Banducci and Ms Weckert next week, they will first hear from smaller players in the $135bn supermarket and liquor sector led by Aldi, Metcash and Endeavour.

Appearing for German discounter Aldi, which has just over a 10 per cent market share, will be its recently appointed chief executive Anna McGrath, who is expected to accentuate the strong competitive bolt it has sent through the sector

Metcash, which sells food, groceries, liquor and hardware through a range of retail banners such as supermarket chains IGA and Ritchies and hardware banner Mitre 10, will be represented by its head of food, Grant Ramage.