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Letter to: James Hall. The Sunday Telegraph. London

Size Matters in the retail business

4 May 2006

Dear Mr Hall

In the retail business, there is cut throat competition to gain market share. There comes a point at which market share is so big, that it can elevate retail business above the level of competition.

Once a true monopoly status is established in the food industry, prices can be allowed to rise and profits to sky rocket. We need to examine the cause of commercial warfare replacing Fair Trading. Size only really matters when Fair Trading has ceased.

With Tesco investing so much money in property, in order to have infinite room for expansion, we can safely assume that Tesco is using credit in a bigger way than any rival. Banks make their huge profits, by issuing new money as credit. Banks will give their best deals on credit to the biggest user of credit.

Tesco can use current banking policy, to place itself way out ahead of all other retailers and achieve monopoly status, before you or I can wake up and see what is happening. All those special offers will disappear, as will the concept of “every little helps”.

With Tesco commanding 70 per cent of the market, Tesco can demand that we pay its price for food or go hungry. World events and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights being abandoned in order to fight terrorism, freedom from hunger and the right to live can become history. As you say size matters.

Doctor Edward C Hamlyn MBChB