Mark White, the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), held his third
Annual Conference on 28 September 2023.
Hundreds of representatives of suppliers, trade associations and
the Retailers attended the GCA’s tenth annual conference on 28
September 2023.
The conference marked ten years since the creation of the GCA,
providing an opportunity to reflect on the work of the GCA and
how the industry has changed over the past decade.
As discussed during the conference, the GCA’s annual survey
results capture this change. In the first GCA annual survey,
undertaken in 2014, the average compliance with the Code across
the then designated retailers was 73%. In the 2023 survey, this
had increased to 92%. In 2014 79% of suppliers reported that they
had a Code-related issue. By 2023, reporting of these issues had
fallen dramatically, with only 36% of suppliers reporting having
any Code-related issue.
The Adjudicator, Mark White, also set out his priorities
for the year ahead, including:
- Retailers’ handling of cost price decreases: The Adjudicator
called for all designated retailers to ensure that they apply the
same principles behind the 7 Golden
Rules for cost price increase requests to cost price
decrease discussions.
- Requirements from Retailers: The Code Compliance Officers
(CCOs) had been reminded in July that the Code restricts
Retailers from Requiring suppliers to take certain actions,
including paying as a condition of being a supplier. If he
believes a Requirement has been made, Mark will challenge the
Retailers to prove that there has been no Requirement.
- Buyer inexperience: The Adjudicator called for Retailers to
train their buyers well and encourage them to go out and meet
suppliers.
- Range reviews: Retailers were reminded of the importance of
following the Code in relation to De-lists.
In addition to hearing from the Adjudicator, the
conference featured:
- Messages from the Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small
Business in the Department for Business and Trade and from the
Competition and Markets Authority.
- An insight into suppliers’ issues from the GCA annual survey
run by YouGov and the follow-on deep dive interviews conducted
with suppliers. Download
the YouGov presentation slides.
- One panel session on how the designated Retailers’ CCOs
support suppliers and can help solve supplier issues and another
on current and future challenges facing the sector.
The conference, the third organised by Mark White, was held as a
hybrid conference with more than 100 attendees joining in-person
in central London and hundreds of attendees participating online.
