Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua supermarket promotion 'unacceptable'

Rotorua Daily Post
4 Dec, 2011 11:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A Rotorua supermarket is at the centre of an Advertising Standards Authority decision calling for supermarkets to sort out self-regulating rules over promotions.

The call follows a ruling by the authority against Progressive Enterprises over promotions at Countdown supermarkets in Rotorua and Hornby in Christchurch.

The promotion compared a trolley load of groceries bought at Pak'nSave, with one bought at Countdown and the authority agrees with Pak'nSave's owners, Foodstuffs, that the comparison wasn't a fair one.

In its complaint, Foodstuffs stated an in-store advertisement for Progressive Enterprises in Countdown Rotorua featured two trolleys of grocery items concealed in clear wrap.

One trolley had a sign attached to the front of it reading; "Countdown Rotorua $150.15", accompanied by a till receipt.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A corresponding sign for the Pak'nSave trolley of goods was placed on the top of the trolley under the clear wrap.

A sign stood in front of the trolleys reading; "These trolleys of grocery items were purchased at Countdown Rotorua and Pak N Save Rotorua on the same day (16.06.11)".

In the complaint, Foodstuffs stated the comparison wasn't fair as the items in the trolleys were not comparative.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In its decision the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) stated the promotion breached standards in failing to compare like products and using far more items on special to make the Countdown trolley look cheaper than it was.

The authority's chief executive, Hilary Souter, said complaints of this nature were a long-standing issue and needed to be resolved.

She said price was paramount to consumers and advertisements comparing products needed to be fair representations.

"The reality is that this kind of process is being used a lot," she said.

"We have now set a precedent and people know that this sort of advertising is not acceptable."

Rotorua Pak'nSave owner Neil Foster couldn't not comment on the decision but Foodstuffs legal general manager Mike Brooker said the company was "very pleased" with the ruling.

"It vindicates out view that their advertisement was misleading. It was not a direct price for price comparison," he said.

A spokesman for Progressive Enterprises could not be contacted for comment.

Rotorua budget advisor Pearl Pavitt said consumers needed to be aware such advertising was happening.

"To have a fair comparison you really need someone independent to go in and buy the same products from each store."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She said consumers needed to be sure about what they wanted to buy before they went shopping.

"People will drive from one place to another trying to find the best bargains and save some money. What they are actually doing is wasting more time and money because they are wasting petrol."

She said people should look at what was on offer in each store, then pick which supermarket had more of what they wanted and shop there.

"Only shopping by the specials can be a waste of time."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily PostUpdated

Crash cuts power to hundreds in Rotorua

29 May 04:28 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'A city that’s finding its feet again': Businesses optimistic in survey, air connectivity key issue

29 May 12:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Heartbreaking': Labour slams National over housing policy

28 May 10:03 PM

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Crash cuts power to hundreds in Rotorua

Crash cuts power to hundreds in Rotorua

29 May 04:28 AM

Power was initially out for 658 customers; 400 remain affected.

'A city that’s finding its feet again': Businesses optimistic in survey, air connectivity key issue

'A city that’s finding its feet again': Businesses optimistic in survey, air connectivity key issue

29 May 12:00 AM
'Heartbreaking': Labour slams National over housing policy

'Heartbreaking': Labour slams National over housing policy

28 May 10:03 PM
Whakatāne homicide: Women accused of killing 8-year-old boy face additional charges

Whakatāne homicide: Women accused of killing 8-year-old boy face additional charges

28 May 06:00 AM
Explore the hidden gems of NSW
sponsored

Explore the hidden gems of NSW

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP