October 30 (SeeNews) - Romania's anti-trust body said on Monday that it will start taking into account a distance criteria in the approval process of mergers and acquisitions on the local food retail market.
The decision came after changes were noticed in the behaviour of companies and consumers on this market, the competition council said in a press release.
Thus, when analyzing the relevant market of a store spanning an area of over than 400 square meters, the council will take into account all existing stores located within a 10-minute drive. When analyzing the relevant market of a store with an area of less than 400 square meters, the competition authority will take into account all existing stores located within a 10-minute walk.
With the application of the new way of analysis, it will be more difficult to approve transactions that involve shops located less than 10 minutes away from each, the council said.
The council has ordered a survey of the food retail sector to identify changes in consumer behaviour regarding fast moving goods. Based on the data obtained during the survey, it has developed an additional analysis that showed an orientation of Romanian consumer towards modern retail forms such as supermarkets, while small stores and the alternative agri-food market are less explored by consumers.
The analysis showed that most of the consumers are willing to drive their personal car to bigger shops, while in the case of smaller shops, consumer said they would walk maximum 10 minutes.
The project will be open for public debate for 30 days on the website of the competition authority.