The British Brands Group has published its latest annual review of designated retailers’ GSCOP compliance reports. These are summaries of the full reports sent to the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The British Brands Group highlighted that 2020-21 was an unprecedented year in UK grocery with extreme pressures felt by retailers and suppliers alike in a climate of significant uncertainty.
Early in the pandemic, there were calls for GSCOP to be suspended, calls resisted by the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) on the basis that the Code was sufficiently flexible to operate even in such exceptional circumstances.
The summary reports suggest that the GCA was correct. During the reporting period, the number of alleged breaches was fewer than in previous years and the number of disputes was largely unchanged (and at a low level). While during the pandemic retailers were particularly reliant on effective partnerships with their suppliers to keep shelves stocked, the level of compliance reflected in the reports is still noteworthy.
Breaches, alleged breaches and disputes form only part of the compliance picture. Retailers are also required to outline the steps they are taking to ensure compliance, and most reports give good insights. Training features strongly and much of that had to move online, though there is no sense that training effort reduced in the period.
While retailers’ summary annual reports give one perspective on GSCOP compliance, the GCA’s supplier survey gives another. In this year’s survey, fewer suppliers reported experiencing Code-related issues, with a still-high 29% being down from 36% in 2020, and suppliers reported fewer incidents of all the issues covered by the Code except one.
The British Brands Group group said this consistency illustrates a step in the right direction and provides good evidence of how a code, monitored and enforced by an effective adjudicator, can incentivise and deliver fair and lawful trading in a large, complex, fast-moving industry, even in the most challenging of commercial climates.
Download the full British Brands Group’s GSCOP reports review (PDF)
NAM Implications:
- If GSCOP worked in Lockdown, it will work in most conditions ahead.
- But key that suppliers and retailers collaborate to minimise inadvertent breaches…
