The Competition Authority held a conference at Hotel Nordica on 26 January 2012, where its report on price development and competition in the grocery market was presented. The report was presented at the meeting by Chief Economist Benedikt Árnason, Director Steingrímur Ægisson and Director Páll Gunnar Pálsson. Also delivering presentations on the report's findings were Ómar Valdimarsson, Managing Director of Samkaup, Finnur Árnason, CEO of Haga; Almar Guðmundsson, Managing Director of the Federation of Icelandic Employers; Erna Bjarnadóttir, economist at the Icelandic Farmers' Association; and Ólafur Stephensen, editor of the Fréttablaðið newspaper.
Around 140 people attended the conference, mainly staff from companies operating in the grocery market and their associations, but also representatives from the public administration, etc. The Competition Authority thanks the speakers and all attendees for their participation and very good attendance, despite the severe weather conditions in the capital region. The Authority hopes that the discussion of the report, and the views on it that are gathered from stakeholders, will be used in deciding the next steps to strengthen competition in all areas of the grocery market.
As it was clear that many who had registered for the conference were unable to attend due to the bad weather, the entire conference was recorded and can be watched below. There are also more photos from the conference on the Competition Authority's Facebook page.
From a speech by Páll Gunnar Pálsson, Director General of the Competition Authority
„It is, of course, difficult to distinguish between legitimate price differences and abnormal ones, and to find solutions to strengthen competition. However, it can be argued with a fair degree of certainty that the terms on which suppliers provide goods to retailers are not, in all cases, based on sound commercial grounds.“
The conference chairman was Rögnvaldur J. Sæmundsson, chairman of the board of the Competition Authority.
The Competition Authority's presentation at the conference - Benedict 02:50
Speech of Páll Gunnar Pálsson
Ómar Valdimarsson, Managing Director of Samkaup
Finnur Árnason, CEO of Haga
Almar Guðmundsson, Director of the Association of Employers
Erna Bjarnadóttir, The Icelandic Farmers' Association
Report No. 1/2012 Price development and competition in the grocery market
Press release from the Competition Authority regarding the report
Press release of 6 July 2012 on the investigation into the commercial terms of suppliers and supermarkets
More pictures from the conference can be seen at Facebook the Competition Authority's website.
Video from the conference
00:02:50 Benedikt Árnason – The Competition Authority
00:08:40 Steingrímur Ægisson – The Competition Authority
00:17:10 Páll Gunnar Pálsson – The Competition Authority
00:31:40 Ómar Valdimarsson – Co-op
00:39:55 Finnur Árnason – Behaviour
00:52:30 Almar Guðmundsson – Association of Employers
01:04:50 Erna Bjarnadóttir – The Icelandic Farmers' Association
01:16:55 Ólafur Stephensen – The newspaper
01:24:25 Helga Jónsdóttir – Ministry of Economy and Commerce
Reaction of Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, Minister of Economic Affairs and Commerce, to the report of the Competition Authority
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