National's Foodstuffs split plan: what the review would test
National would investigate splitting Pak'nSave and New World into separate companies to try to lower grocery prices.
The proposal, detailed on 16 September 2026, is conditional. A six-month review by the Commerce Commission, the independent body that checks competition, would test whether shoppers would be better off. National says it would pass a law to force the separation if the review gave the green light. RNZ
Under the plan, New Zealand would have three nationwide supermarket chains, including Pak'nSave and New World/Four Square as separate chains. It would be like two teams with the same owner becoming rivals under different owners. National has made the break-up part of its 2026 election pitch. It says splitting Pak'nSave from New World would increase competition between supermarkets. Farmers Weekly
Labour is unconvinced. It called the policy little more than another taxpayer-funded review. Foodstuffs is pushing back. It said the proposal would have significant implications for its more than 500 locally owned stores. Smaller operators back the idea. Night 'n Day general manager Matthew Lane said the break-up was long overdue.
Shoppers are divided. RNZ spoke to shoppers at Pak'nSave in Royal Oak about the proposal. Some supported action to lower prices. Others doubted it would make a difference.
The policy sits in a longer debate about groceries. Woolworths and Foodstuffs dominate the supermarket sector. No new national chain has entered the market. In November 2024, the Commerce Commission turned down Foodstuffs' application to join parts of its business, because of concerns about competition in the grocery industry.
National has before paired rule changes with the threat of a break-up. In August 2025 it put out a release titled 'Express lane for new supermarkets'. In it, the party said it had removed barriers to help new supermarkets start up, while also talking about breaking up Foodstuffs and/or Woolworths because of their strong hold on the market. National Party
The broader context here is process as much as policy. The design puts the Commerce Commission between National and a law to break up the companies. That limits legal and business risk for the Government while keeping pressure on the current owners through the election period. It also narrows the question from whether barriers for newcomers have been lowered to whether the current ownership set-up still stops proper competition, a question the commission has already looked at in part during the merger process. The political question will be whether voters see a conditional review as careful work or delay, and whether the industry believes the threat of a law is real.
