1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,679 Speaker 1: Nikola will a supermarket vand wagon back in town yesterday 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: with news in an express lane. She said all this before, 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,039 Speaker 1: of course, and yet there still isn't actually an express lane. 4 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:09,720 Speaker 1: But by the end of the year the laws will 5 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: be passed to create one. And once again she couldn't 6 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:14,079 Speaker 1: end her dissertation without yet another finger wag threatening a 7 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: regulatory breakup. Chris Quinn Food Stufs North Island CEOs back 8 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:17,920 Speaker 1: with us. 9 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning, MIKEE. 10 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: Do you welcome the red tape stuff? She seems to 11 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: have yet again reiterated that there's too much red tape. 12 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: We need to get on with business. Is that fair? 13 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 2: Look, that is fair, and that was the feedback from 14 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 2: the industries as we looked at this. We said, if 15 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 2: you really want to work on the cost of doing 16 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 2: business and that results in prices, then these sort of 17 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 2: changes faster, consenting the zone reforms, getting the red tape 18 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 2: out of the way so that any operator in the 19 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 2: industry can enter the industry or operate cheaper. That is 20 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 2: a good thing. 21 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: Ah. So do you think she meant you operating more 22 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: and faster or do you think she's thinking of other people? 23 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: And if you guys start moving faster in her new 24 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: express lane. She might not be overly happy with it. 25 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 2: Look, I think this is about making sure the market 26 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 2: itself and the cost of doing business in the New 27 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 2: Zealand market and any industry actually, but in this one 28 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 2: in particular. That will encourage competition, that will make it 29 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 2: cheaper for any operator to deliver great food price value 30 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 2: to New Zealand, and so overall in terms of the 31 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 2: government supporting this industry to perform better and to live 32 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:23,920 Speaker 2: a better value, they are good moves. 33 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: The elder little non appearance. What does that tell us 34 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:28,839 Speaker 1: about the market and how the world sees our market? 35 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 2: Look, I think it tells us that we're a small country. 36 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 2: We're physically the same size as Japan, but only with 37 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,559 Speaker 2: five and a half million people. I think it tells 38 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 2: us that in Auckland, for example, thirty percent of the 39 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 2: retail grocery market is already in the hands of many 40 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 2: innovative and different third players, and across the country it's 41 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 2: about eighteen percent on average. So you know, the state 42 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 2: of competition today might be a little bit different than 43 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 2: maybe people recognize. 44 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: Ye are you between a rock and a hard place? 45 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: Because I see, I don't want to appear to be 46 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: necessarily on your side. But the more I've looked at this, 47 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: the more I've come to the conclusion there is no 48 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: scandal at the end of the day. I mean, she 49 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,919 Speaker 1: talked about Costco yesterday. Costco's not her answer. The market 50 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: is open to people who want to open up stores. 51 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: They just don't all THEI in Little didn't even want 52 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: to participate. I mean, how much harder does somebody like 53 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: her want to look to find nothing? 54 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 2: Look what we would welcome as regulatory certainty because that 55 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 2: enables us to be efficient, to set up our model 56 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 2: and to get going, and to be as cheap as 57 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 2: we can, which means we can get the best value 58 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 2: on shelf. The size of this market is definitely a 59 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 2: challenge for the number of players that may be able 60 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 2: to invest the quite large capital that goes into these businesses. 61 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:43,079 Speaker 2: And the reality is, particularly of these moves now, there 62 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 2: is very little in anyone's way. If they choose to 63 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 2: come and invest and compete, they can. 64 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: Do you think she will blow the market up once 65 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: she gets this mystery report at some point in the future. 66 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 2: We've been clear, we don't see a positive business case 67 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 2: for investment. We I do think that getting the job 68 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 2: done in terms of the analysis will be helpful because 69 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 2: there are facts that need to be carefully thought about, 70 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 2: and the fact that the market today has a corporate 71 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:12,920 Speaker 2: organization and a cooperative organization and they're very different in 72 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 2: how they work. And you know, on behalf of the 73 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 2: families that own our stores individually, you know they are 74 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,239 Speaker 2: still scratching their heads, going, well, what actually is the 75 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 2: government looking at doing to our businesses? And the sooner 76 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 2: we can get to certainty on that so they can 77 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 2: invest trading their communities and deliver great value, the better. 78 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: All Right, appreciate it. Chris Quinn, who's from food Stuffs 79 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: of course. 80 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 2: For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to 81 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 2: news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow 82 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.