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Cape Town - Shoprite [JSE:SHP] has won the next round in its case against Mass Stores [JSE:MSM] about the former's exclusive rights to sell certain products in the Cape Gate Shopping Centre in Cape Town.
Shoprite obtained an interim interdict against Mass Stores in the Western Cape High Court last week.
The interdict prohibited and restrained Mass Stores, which is owned by the US retail giant Walmart and operates a Massmart Game store in the Cape Gate shopping centre, from using any part of the centre in for selling certain food items like bread, cheese and eggs and liquor.
This type of clause usually helps to ensure that anchor tenants in new shopping centre developments will have limited competition.
On the day the interim inderdict was obtained, Game stopped selling certain of the items, but restarted the sale thereof the next day, after it had submitted an application for leave to appeal against it.
On Wednesday Massmart agreed to withdraw this application for leave to appeal.
It was agreed between the parties that, despite the operation of the terms of the interim interdict, Game would be permitted to sell those restricted items currently in its possession in that particular store until the close of business on Tuesday November 5.
The interim inderdict is in place pending the outcome of Shoprite Checkers’ application for a final interdict on the matter.
Mass Stores has asked the Competition Commission to investigate the matter. This means that any declaration by the competition authorities on the validity of an exclusivity clause of Shoprite Checkers’ lease will also have to be taken into account.
"The losers in this action are all South African consumers who, through the device of exclusivity clauses, are denied the benefit of a free and fair competitive trading environment," Massmart Group corporate affairs executive Brian Leroni told Fin24 last week.
In response Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson said the pricing in stores where it has an exclusivity clause is no different to that of stores in centres where there is no such clause in its lease agreement.
Johan Theron of Werksmans Attorneys acts on behalf of Shoprite and Adriaan Hoeben of ENS on behalf of Mass Stores.
- Fin24
Shoprite obtained an interim interdict against Mass Stores in the Western Cape High Court last week.
The interdict prohibited and restrained Mass Stores, which is owned by the US retail giant Walmart and operates a Massmart Game store in the Cape Gate shopping centre, from using any part of the centre in for selling certain food items like bread, cheese and eggs and liquor.
This type of clause usually helps to ensure that anchor tenants in new shopping centre developments will have limited competition.
On the day the interim inderdict was obtained, Game stopped selling certain of the items, but restarted the sale thereof the next day, after it had submitted an application for leave to appeal against it.
On Wednesday Massmart agreed to withdraw this application for leave to appeal.
It was agreed between the parties that, despite the operation of the terms of the interim interdict, Game would be permitted to sell those restricted items currently in its possession in that particular store until the close of business on Tuesday November 5.
The interim inderdict is in place pending the outcome of Shoprite Checkers’ application for a final interdict on the matter.
Mass Stores has asked the Competition Commission to investigate the matter. This means that any declaration by the competition authorities on the validity of an exclusivity clause of Shoprite Checkers’ lease will also have to be taken into account.
"The losers in this action are all South African consumers who, through the device of exclusivity clauses, are denied the benefit of a free and fair competitive trading environment," Massmart Group corporate affairs executive Brian Leroni told Fin24 last week.
In response Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson said the pricing in stores where it has an exclusivity clause is no different to that of stores in centres where there is no such clause in its lease agreement.
Johan Theron of Werksmans Attorneys acts on behalf of Shoprite and Adriaan Hoeben of ENS on behalf of Mass Stores.
- Fin24
