Australia's commercial gardening and nursery sector has, for the first time, gone public with its concerns about Bunnings' market power and how it treats growers — calling for the retailer to face the same scrutiny as Coles and Woolworths.
Greenlife Industry Australia (GIA) represents the $2.8 billion nursery industry, which grows seedlings, plants, and trees to be sold to gardeners and employs more than 25,000 people.
In a submission to the Senate inquiry on supermarket prices, GIA said Bunnings' massive market share allowed it to dictate prices and plant supply. "While growers of nursery products do supply plants to many supermarkets, our bigger concern is with the supply of plants to what are commonly described as big box stores," the GIA submission said.
"Bunnings is by far the biggest of these, maintaining a national market share of 70 percent, rising to over 80 percent in some regions and towns." Coles and Woolworths control 65 percent of Australia's grocery market.
Read more at abc.net.au