Fines for below-cost selling

INDEPENDENT grocery group RGDATA has welcomed the successful prosecution of Dunnes Stores for below-cost selling.

Dunnes was fined €500 on each of two counts of selling frozen foods below the net invoice price at its Clonmel outlet.

Director of Consumer Affairs Carmel Foley, who took the successful prosecution, was awarded €1,000 costs and expenses against the company.

An inspector for the director gave evidence of the alleged offences, which relate to a visit to Dunnes outlet on October 16, 2003. The items being offered for sale below the cost the store bought them were Bird’s Eye fish fingers and Bird’s Eye garlic chicken. Earlier this year, in an ongoing price war between Dunnes and Tesco, both supermarket groups were each fined over €2,000 when convicted of illegally discounting baby foods.

According to Ms Foley, the two giants together control 50% of the retail grocery market in Ireland and in some areas of the country control up to 70% of the market.

RGDATA director Ailish Forde noted the director’s office was charged with protecting the consumer.

“The Groceries Order is quite clearly a matter of consumer protection and below-cost selling has been recognised in many countries as not being in the pubic interest,” she said.