The story so far

1948: The country's first self-service grocery store 'Four Square' opens. 

Late 1950s: The first Woolworths opens Foodtown. 

1950s - 2000s: New Zealand enjoys a diversity of supermarkets over the decades, from Price Chopper to Pak'N'Save to Super Value.

2002: Supermarket choices dwindle as larger players buy up smaller retailers, until the duopoly is officially born when Progressive and Woolworths merge. 

2000s - 2010s: New Zealand has one of the most concentrated grocery retailing sectors in the world with Foodstuffs and Woolworths now controlling at least 80% of the market. Complaints about the cost of food, as well as a lack of clarity around pricing, concerns for supplier treatment and impediments to new entrants entering the market grow louder. 

November 2020: The Commerce Commission launches a market study to see if competition is working well in the grocery sector. 

March 2022: The final report is released and confirms duopoly are making profits in excessive profits of $1 million a day at the expense of New Zealanders. A variety of recommendations to increase competition are made by the Commission.

May 2022: Consumer NZ launches a petition for the government to go beyond the recommendations, which receives 78,000 signatures. 

July 2022: The Government indicates it will go further than Commerce Commission’s recommendations, with various measures underway to encourage healthier supermarket competition. 

August 2022: The Government gives the duopoly a year to reach a supply agreement with wholesale customers, or be forced to sell at set prices by a regulator.