Mike Schneider, the chief executive of the Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings, said that the hardware giant took its promise to beat any competitor’s price seriously and that critics would not find evidence of it engaging in price gouging. He added he was surprised by the claims, given the company had long advertised using the slogan “lowest prices are just the beginning”. “I had to read it a couple of times when I heard the words price gouging,” he said, according to the Financial Review.
“To advertise using the word ‘lowest’ means we’ve got to do a lot of work to prove that.” Schneider’s comments come as pressure is building for big-box retailers to be subjected to a parliamentary inquiry into allegations of misuse of market power. NSW Nationals senator Ross Cadell claimed to have evidence of one large retailer complaining to a supplier after having to honour a competitor’s lower price in an attempt to block the rival from being able to sell the product in future.
A more influential voice calling for the inquiry though is Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Last month, Dutton said the difference in profit margins between the Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings and its smaller rivals Mitre 10 and Home Hardware, “is astronomical”. “We want them [businesses] to be successful, we want them to be profitable, but we can’t have price gouging, particularly where you’ve got market concentration,” said Dutton.
“Ultimately, we want a free market to operate effectively, .