LOSS LEADER PRODUCTS

That this House notes that many dominant supermarkets and traditional non-electrical retailers offer electrical products below their cost price as loss leaders to lure customers into their establishments; well understands that the lure of cheap products, although mainly unsupported by trained and knowledgable staff, can and often does attract unsuspecting customers who may not fully grasp that such a practice is purely in place to influence them to enter, then buy other high margin goods; expresses concern that such predatory strategies can and will only drive out competitors in the electrical retail market, especially many small established businesses that cannot affordsuch high level discounts; further notes that a number of other nations including France and Belgium currently ban the practice of such selling, which they believe offers better protection forboth users and the electrical goods industries; and calls on the Government urgently toexamine the negative effect of such loss leader practices by dominant supermarket chains who have already caused the loss of tens of thousands of corner shops in local communities.