Asda refuses to support minimum pricing bid

Asda will not support government legislation in favour of a minimum price for alcohol, according to its public affairs director Guy Mason.

Citing a survey of 10,000 people conducted by the supermarket chain, Mason told delegates at the Westminster Health Forum seminar on Alcohol and Responsibility that Asda customers are "overwhelmingly" against the proposal. Sixy-seven percent of customers voted against a minimum pricing policy in the survey.

"We would not welcome minimum pricing as our customers have told us they wouldn't want it. Why are we being asked to punish 80% of our customers because of the behavior of the minority?" said Mason.

Mason added that it was "in (Asda's) DNA" to offer low prices to our customers.

Other delegates at the conference have criticised Asda for its reluctance to end deep discounting. Alcohol Concern's chief executive, Don Shenker, said: "Asda's mission statement is to provide the best price for its consumers. The problem with that is that alcohol is not an ordinary product - it's a psychoactive drug.

"Through supermarkets the people who are most vulnerable to alcohol misuse are able to afford alcohol cheaply. To prevent this we need to look at a strategy for minimum pricing to end irresponsible deep discounting."

Professor Mark Bellis, the director of the centre for public health at Liverpool John Moores University, also called for minimum pricing to be enforced, referring to cheap alcohol in supermarkets as "the cancer at the heart of our drinking problem."

Earlier this month, Labour MP Sally Keeble launched a new private members bill proposing a minimum price on alcohol.

Under the new plans, a Drinks Industry Council (DIC) would be created, comprised of representatives from the industry, producers, police, health care, youth sector and consumers. The DIC would advise Government on a minimum price for a unit of alcohol, promotions and set codes of conduct.

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Whilst I respect that 'Low price' drinks offers can have a negative effect on some areas of society, particularly those younger/new drinkers where effective action has already been taken by the stores with their 'Over 21's Only' sales policy, I can see the return of increased cross border shopping if we start fixing higher prices on drinks. The typical Asda shopper demands low priced drinks through 'special offers', if these dry up, the shopper will hire a white van & visit France on away day deals. We, as an industry, will be back in the 'mess' we had 10 years ago of illegal trading and grey market stock appearing everywhere. If this happens, what will be more damaging is the availability of cheap drink that can be bought by under-aged drinkers from the back of unscrupulous 'white van' suppliers or 'Over the garden fence' where there are no 'age controls' in place to protect our younger drinkers and society at large. Two steps forward – three steps back.

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October 23, 2008
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