The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has made further agreements with major supermarket operators to phase out restrictive provisions in supermarket leases.
Aldi, Franklins, Spar Australia, Australian United Retailers (trading as Foodworks) and Metcash have all agreed with the ACCC that they will not enter into any new leasing agreement, which includes restrictive provisions and in the case of existing supermarket leases will not enforce any restrictive provisions beyond five years after the commencement of trading.
The announcement follows similar agreements reached with Coles and Woolworths in September last year and is a significant achievement in further opening up competition in the industry.
"These further agreements with the next tier of supermarket operators mean that many more shopping centres will no longer be hamstrung by restrictive provisions in leases that prevent or hinder the entry of competing supermarkets," said ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel.
"These supermarkets, to their credit, have all acknowledged the concerns of the ACCC in respect to restrictive provisions and have acted responsibly in cooperating with the ACCC to phase out restrictive provisions."
As with the agreements reached with Coles and Woolworths, these further agreements are in the form of court enforceable undertakings which have been voluntarily provided.