Rotorua and Pāpāmoa Pak’nSave owners react to National’s Foodstuffs

Pak'nSave Rotorua. National wants to split Foodstuff's Pak'nSave brands from its New World and Four Square brands. Photo / Andrew Warner

National’s plan to split supermarket collective Foodstuffs in two has left one regional Pak’nSave owner feeling “physically sick” and another “bewildered”.

National announced on Wednesday that it wanted to split Foodstuff’s brands into two nationwide supermarket chains - Pak’nSave in one, and New World and Four Square the other - if the Commerce Commission found it would work.

This was intended to create a third major player in New Zealand’s grocery market, alongside Australian-owned Woolworths, to increase competition and lower prices.

Foodstuffs and Woolworths own an 82% share of the market.

A Government-commissioned cost-benefit analysis by Sense Partners found the Foodstuffs split could save households between $3.85 and $25.38 a week by 2035.