Splitting Foodstuffs: the options compared
Policy can move fast. This page is correct as at 9 November 2026. We will update the status lines after the official election results on 27 November 2026.
Are PAK'nSAVE and New World the same company? How Foodstuffs is owned, the blocked 2024 merger, the Gilmours and Trents deal, and each split option compared.
What this guide covers
PAK'nSAVE, New World and Four Square are all Foodstuffs brands. But Foodstuffs is two separate co-operatives, one for each island, owned by their store owners. Each co-operative runs all three brands in its island. The split plans would put PAK'nSAVE and New World into separate nationwide businesses.
How Foodstuffs is set up today
Foodstuffs is "two separate, regionally based, Owner operated cooperatives": Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island [1]. Foodstuffs says each co-op "operates independently and autonomously" [2].
Foodstuffs stores by brand, at 1 October 2025
Co-op: Foodstuffs North Island. PAK'nSAVE: 47. New World: 105. Four Square: 162. Other stores: None listed
Co-op: Foodstuffs South Island. PAK'nSAVE: 12. New World: 43. Four Square: 57. Other stores: 62 On the Spot
Source: Commerce Commission, Annual Grocery Report 2025, Table 1, printed page 11 [3].
Each co-op also had a wholesale business: Gilmours in the North Island and Trents in the South Island [3].
By store brand, Woolworths had 27% of the national grocery market in 2025, PAK'nSAVE 25% and New World 22% [3].
Do PAK'nSAVE and New World compete?
The Commission says the two brands are "deliberately differentiated" within the same co-operative structure. That "may influence the nature and intensity of competition between the two formats, but does not remove the potential for direct local competition where stores overlap" [3].
The merger the Commission blocked in 2024
The two co-ops asked to merge into one national co-operative. On 1 October 2024 the Commerce Commission declined clearance. It was not satisfied the merger would not substantially lessen competition [4].
The co-ops appealed. Inside Retail NZ reported on 2 March 2026 that their court challenge had begun [5]. We found no published ruling as at 9 November 2026.
Gilmours and Trents now have one owner
The NZ Herald reported on 15 September 2026 that Foodstuffs North Island, which owns Gilmours, bought Trents from Foodstuffs South Island in August 2026. That puts both Foodstuffs wholesale businesses under one owner [6].
The Herald quotes a Commission spokeswoman: "Based on the information available, we did not have any competition concerns about the combining of Trents and Gilmours in any relevant markets." A Foodstuffs spokesman said Trents would move "over time" to an owner-operator model [6].
What we could not confirm
The price, the name of the combined business and the timetable were not reported.
We found no Foodstuffs media release and no Commission clearance application for the deal.
We found only the NZ Herald report. We searched Inside Retail NZ and found nothing on the deal.
Separately, the Commission has filed civil proceedings against Foodstuffs North Island and Gilmours Wholesale for alleged cartel conduct. They are defending the case, and the Commission expects a trial in February 2027 [3].
The options side by side
Options for supermarket competition, as at 9 November 2026
Option: Split by brand. What changes: Two nationwide chains: PAK'nSAVE; New World with Four Square. Who proposes it: National, after a Commission test [7]; NZ First, by law [8]. Public cost stated: $5 million for the Commission's test [9]. Open question: Whether extra running costs eat the savings (see below)
Option: Separate wholesale. What changes: The big groups run wholesale apart from their stores, with a pricing firewall. Who proposes it: Labour [10][11]. Public cost stated: None given. Open question: How the separation would be checked
Option: Public chain (KiwiMart). What changes: At least 120 stores sold into a public chain. Who proposes it: Green Party [12]. Public cost stated: $2.8 billion [12]. Open question: How "fair compensation" for the stores is set
Option: Easier entry. What changes: Faster consents; overseas food labels accepted. Who proposes it: ACT [13]. Public cost stated: None given. Open question: Whether a new national chain comes
Option: Price rules. What changes: Ban excessive prices by dominant firms. Who proposes it: Labour [14]; Green Party [12]. Public cost stated: None given. Open question: How a fair price is tested
Option: Commission power to split. What changes: The Commission can seek a break-up through the courts. Who proposes it: Opportunity [15]. Public cost stated: None given. Open question: Which firms it would target
The cost-benefit numbers, and their limits
The government commissioned Sense Partners to study a Foodstuffs split. The report is dated June 2026 and was released on 16 September 2026 [16]. The PDF would not open for us, so these figures come from news reports of it.
Net benefit: about $2.9 billion over 20 years in the central case [17][18].
Gain to shoppers: about $13.1 billion, most of it from a $10.6 billion fall in supermarket operating profits [17]. National quotes $12.6 billion [18].
Households: about $200 to $1,320 a year by 2035 [19].
The cost assumption: the central case assumes costs rise 1%. At 2%, the benefit falls to $920 million [17].
A new discounter: a hard-discount chain such as Aldi entering would cut the benefit of a split by about 30% [17].
The authors' own caution: the economists called their work "indicative rather than definitive" [18].
Who disagrees, and how
A review paid for by Foodstuffs, by HoustonKemp, said the benefits looked "too good to be true". It says PAK'nSAVE stores "can and do presently win business from New World" [20].
The government's peer reviewer, John Davies, wrote that "the modelling choices and assumptions made seem to me sensible" [20].
Almost 500 Foodstuffs owner-operators signed open letters against the break-up plans [21].
Check it yourself
Start with the Commission's annual report and each party's own page, listed in the sources.
Copy this prompt into an AI assistant
Explain, in plain words for a New Zealand shopper, how Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island are owned and which store brands each runs. Then compare these supermarket policy options side by side: splitting Foodstuffs by brand, separating wholesale from retail, a public chain (KiwiMart), easier entry for new supermarkets, and price-gouging rules. For each: what changes, who would pay, and the biggest open question. Use only official sources and dated news reports, give the date for every number, and do not recommend an option.
General information, not legal, financial or investment advice. Check your own situation with a lawyer, accountant or the Commerce Commission.
The steps
Read how Foodstuffs is owned today.
Compare the options in the table.
Read the limits on the cost-benefit numbers before quoting them.
Are PAK'nSAVE and New World owned by the same company?
They are both Foodstuffs brands. Foodstuffs is two separate co-operatives, North Island and South Island, owned by their store owners. Each co-op runs PAK'nSAVE, New World and Four Square in its own island.
How many Four Square stores are there?
At 1 October 2025 there were 162 Four Square stores in Foodstuffs North Island and 57 in Foodstuffs South Island, according to the Commerce Commission.
Did the Commerce Commission block a Foodstuffs merger?
Yes. On 1 October 2024 it declined clearance for the two co-ops to merge. The co-ops appealed, and their court challenge began in March 2026.
Who owns Gilmours and Trents?
The NZ Herald reported in September 2026 that Foodstuffs North Island, which owns Gilmours, bought Trents from Foodstuffs South Island in August 2026.
Sources, checked 9 November 2026
[1] Foodstuffs, FAQs, checked 9 November 2026: https://www.foodstuffs.co.nz/who-we-are/faqs
[2] Foodstuffs, Our story, checked 9 November 2026: https://foodstuffs.co.nz/who-we-are/our-story
[3] Commerce Commission, Annual Grocery Report 2025 (PDF), published 2 June 2026: https://www.comcom.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Annual-Grocery-Report-2025-2-June-2026.pdf
[4] Commerce Commission, Commerce Commission declines clearance for the proposed Foodstuffs merger, 1 October 2024: https://comcom.govt.nz/news-and-media/media-releases/2024/commerce-commission-declines-clearance-for-the-proposed-foodstuffs-merger
[5] Inside Retail NZ, Foodstuffs' court challenge of ComCom's merger decision begins, 2 March 2026: https://insideretail.co.nz/2026/03/02/foodstuffs-court-challenge-of-comcoms-merger-decision-begins/
[6] NZ Herald, Foodstuffs combines Gilmours and Trents wholesale businesses despite Commerce Commission blocking merger of parents (Kate MacNamara), 15 September 2026: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/retail/foodstuffs-combines-gilmours-and-trents-wholesale-businesses-despite-merger-block/premium/RSUSCGZ2BJAETKCELXWNTIDNBE/
[7] National Party, National to pursue separation of Foodstuffs, 16 September 2026: https://www.national.org.nz/news/260916-nicolawillis
[8] NZ First, NZ First will break up the supermarket duopoly (release via Scoop), 19 April 2026: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2604/S00094/nz-first-campaign-policy-announcement-nz-first-will-break-up-the-supermarket-duopoly-bring-food-prices-down-for-kiwis.htm
[9] interest.co.nz, Nicola Willis says National will look at breaking up Foodstuffs, 16 September 2026: https://www.interest.co.nz/public-policy/140274/national%E2%80%99s-nicola-willis-says-if-re-elected-government-her-party-will-look
[10] 1News, It's breakup season: Labour, National clash on tearing up grocery duopoly, 20 September 2026: https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/09/20/labour-proposes-splitting-foodstuffs-woolworths-from-wholesale-arms/
[11] Inside Retail NZ, Parties have pitched their supermarket fixes. What if we merged the best ideas? (Jonathan Baker, from The Conversation), 24 September 2026: https://insideretail.co.nz/2026/09/24/parties-have-pitched-their-supermarket-fixes-what-if-we-merged-the-best-ideas/
[12] Green Party, Affordable food for all of us (policy PDF), September 2026: https://www.greens.org.nz/affordable_food_full_policy
[13] 1News, ACT reveals supermarkets policy, decries 'insane' break-up proposals, 28 September 2026: https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/09/28/act-reveals-supermarkets-policy-decries-insane-break-up-proposals/
[14] Labour Party, Banning price gouging (page undated), checked 9 November 2026: https://www.labour.org.nz/banning-price-gouging
[15] Opportunity Party, Our bottom lines for 2026 (page undated), checked 9 November 2026: https://www.opportunity.org.nz/bottom_lines
[16] MBIE, Supermarket cost benefit analysis June 2026 (Sense Partners, PDF), released 16 September 2026: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/32518-supermarket-cost-benefit-analysis-june-2026-pdf
[17] 1News, National to 'pursue' Pak'nSave and New World break-up, 16 September 2026: https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/09/16/national-to-pursue-paknsave-and-new-world-break-up/
[18] RNZ, National vows to 'pursue' break up of supermarket giant Foodstuffs, 16 September 2026: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/1410766/national-vows-to-pursue-break-up-of-supermarket-giant-foodstuffs
[19] 1News, Foodstuffs challenges National to show receipts on supermarket split savings, 18 September 2026: https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/09/18/foodstuffs-challenges-national-to-show-receipts-on-supermarket-split-savings/
[20] 1News (from RNZ), Foodstuffs-commissioned review criticises break-up modelling, 4 October 2026: https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/10/04/foodstuffs-commissioned-review-criticises-break-up-modelling/
[21] Fruitnet, Foodstuffs supermarket owner-operators object to break-up proposals, 22 September 2026: https://www.fruitnet.com/produce-plus/foodstuffs-supermarket-owner-operators-object-to-break-up-proposals/272759.article