Grocery cost report 'a chance missed'
A REPORT into the Channel Islands' grocery market was a 'good opportunity missed', according to Sandpiper's CEO.
Tony O'Neill, pictured, said the report by the Channel Islands Competition and Regulation Authorities included products from two low-cost supermarkets, Aldi and Lidl.
He said that was grossly unfair.
'To my mind it is ridiculous and is based upon spurious comparison,' he said.
The low-cost model operated by Lidl and Aldi, Mr O'Neill said, was unlikely to work in the islands because higher rents, higher wages and higher transport costs made it unlikely they would be able to offer the same prices as they do in the UK.
But Cicra chief executive Andrew Riseley rejected Mr O'Neill's criticism.
'It is designed to elicit a comparison of what consumers on tight budgets in Guernsey and Jersey can buy relative to those in the UK.
