Can small players stand up to the multiples?

SUPPLIERS to supermarkets will struggle to sustain their margins as the big players in the Irish retail sector fight for market share.

Evidence of just how cutthroat the market has become in light of rising food prices surfaced recently in Britain when allegations that Asda — owned by Wal-Mart — and Tesco had threatened to blacklist suppliers if they refused to give them bigger discounts.

Suppliers in Britain claim they have been put under huge pressure to cut their prices to the big chains.