Grocery war hots up

Press, 23 March 1982, Page 6

Grocery war hots up

The grocery-price war took a new turn yesterday when the Christchurch grocery firm of J. Rattray and Son, Ltd, instructed its solicitors to prepare a writ for damages for $500,000 against Woolworths (N.Z.), Ltd.

Rattray's said it, intended to take legal action over an advertising circular distributed to Christchurch houses at the week-end.

The circular featured an illustration of a cricketer wearing pads and poised with his cricket bat in an attacking position, accompanied by the words, "Woolworths hit prices for a six!” A' statement from Rattray’s said, “This circular quoted grocery selling prices of five of. Woolworths’ competitors’ outlets, including three identified as ‘Foodbarn Northlands,’ ‘Foodbarn Sydenham,’ and ‘Foodbarn New Brighton,’ Foodbarn being the name used by these Countdown outlets operated by Rattray’s.

“The whole advertisement is misleading in that it quotes prices of several lines incorrectly, with the most notable example being that of ‘Treasures Nappies: Toddlers 12s’, which is shown at the Foodbarn Sydenham at $3.64, when the actual selling price as ..at the date both immediately before and immediately after delivery of the circular is $2.31.

“The price of $3.64 is also shown for the same product under Foodbarn New Brighton when that outlet does not even stock that particular pack size and the price quoted is the selling price of the ‘2os’, not ‘l2s’. "It is also of interest that a selection of only 33 product lines has been chosen to claim 'Woolworths’ warehouse grocery prices’ are the lowest, when a normal supermarket stocks over 7000 separate product lines. “The supposed survey sample is also undated, so that the consumer has no possible way of knowing

whether the prices quoted or the method by which they were arrived at are accurate and valid at the date of delivery of the circular.”

The executive director of Rattray’s, Mr J. Veitch, said yesterday that surveys done by Rattray’s since the first Countdown shop had been opened, in May, 1981, showed that Countdown prices were the lowest. The divisional controller of merchandise, of L. D. Nathan’s food division, Mr B. A. Isherwood, said that of five stores surveyed, Woolworths might have made a mistake in recording the size or number of napkins in a particular packet sold by two Foodbarns. He said, “If this is the case, the company apologises. However, even if you delete these from the list, Woolworths is still cheaper and the company maintains that over all its groceries in the South Island are the cheapest. “By deleting the napkins

from the list, Woolworths' advantage is changed but the over-all situation is not.” Mr Isherwood said that the initial survey had been made on February 17 and this had been re-checked on March 10. with some further individual checks being made on March 11 and 12, which was right up to the deadline of publication of the circular.

The 33 items listed comprised a typical, highvolume list of groceries which were bought regularly. The prices of the items had been published but the original list of groceries which had been checked was greater. Some of the items had been dropped because not all stores carried the full Woolworths range.

Mr Isherwood said. “We have done this sort of listing in the North Island many times before and we are somewhat bemused why the Foodbarns in Christchurch appear to have different prices from the others."