Almost 500 local supermarket owner-operators sign open letters on proposed Foodstuffs break-up

Almost 500 locally owned supermarket owner-operators from Houhoura to Stewart Island have signed open letters expressing concern about proposals to force the break-up of the Foodstuffs co-operatives.

Representing family-owned PAK'nSAVE, New World and Four Square stores across New Zealand, the signatories say the proposal raises significant questions about its actual impact on grocery prices for consumers, supply chain costs, regional communities and future investment in their family businesses.

The letters have been signed by owner-operators from both the Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island co-operatives and reflect concerns shared across the country about the consequences of dismantling the century-old New Zealand co-operative model.

Drawing on decades of shop-floor experience running supermarkets, the signatories say significant questions remain about how the proposal would work in practice and what it would mean for customers and communities.

Foodstuffs North Island owner-operators say the proposal misunderstands the nature of the co-operative model and support structures, which are owned by the local grocers, and risks dismantling the scale, infrastructure and support systems that help keep stores operating efficiently.

Foodstuffs South Island owner-operators have similar concerns - that breaking apart the co-operative could increase costs, create uncertainty and undermine services relied on by many regional and remote rural communities.

The family owner-operators say they support efforts to improve grocery affordability but have serious concerns about whether the proposed structural changes would achieve that outcome.

Across both letters, the grocers say Foodstuffs co-operatives are owned by local supermarket operators, and the co-operative model provides shared buying power, logistics, technology and infrastructure that individual stores could not efficiently replicate on their own.

They add that they are concerned regional and smaller communities could face greater risks and uncertainty if the co-operative model is dismantled, and significant questions remain about the costs, complexity and practical impacts of the proposal.

Copies of both open letters are here: Foodstuffs South Island - Foodstuffs North Island