The country's largest independent chain of greengrocers has urged the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to broaden its supermarket probe to include lease agreements and new store developments, according to The Australian Financial Review.
The competition regulator is investigating alleged misuse of market power by Coles Ltd and Woolworths Ltd.
Harris Farm co-chief executive Tristan Harris accused the supermarket giants of absorbing losses on lease agreements and new stores to expand their footprints.
“The [ACCC] should be looking at what is required to make sure companies can compete on a fair basis, including rent and access,” Mr Harris told the AFR.
“Coles and Woolworths are looking well into the future in terms of where they can put down a store and are happy to run it at a loss.”
He said smaller competitors, such as Harris Farm, are unable to absorb steep losses on leases as a cost of expanding into new communities the way Coles and Woolworths can, giving the giants an unfair market advantage.