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Article: Game of consequences: how will the smaller players be hit by the fallout from the battle for Safeway. (Analysis).
- Article from:
- Grocer
- Article date:
- January 25, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 William Reed Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Sainsbury knows this is the last chance saloon. Asda is desperate not to let Safeway slip through its fingers, while Tesco can't afford to let either of them get their hands on it. Sir Ken Morrison, meanwhile, looks set to laugh all the way to the bank either way. But what about the players too small to enter the bidding frenzy?
If Wal-Mart snaps up Safeway, says Cap Gemini's Richard Hull, "Sir Peter Davis will have to respond". And that means looking for a consolation prize. Enter Somerfield, Big Food Group, or even TM Retail, he suggests. "It's a buyer's market out there."
Icelandic group Baugur, which has taken sizeable stakes in both Big Food Group ...