New Zealand’s supermarket duopoly is under fresh scrutiny following remarks by Finance Minister Nicola Willis, who said she was open to offering “VIP treatment” to any foreign chain willing to enter the market.

But an expert trio—Drew Franklin from the University of Auckland and Lisa M. Katerina Asher and Catherine Sutton-Brady from the University of Sydney—says locals shouldn’t hold their breath for a global brand like Aldi.

It could take five years or more for an overseas player to set up a nationwide chain in New Zealand.

No international operator has yet expressed interest publicly, and past examples like Kaufland and Costco show just how slow and costly that process can be.

Instead, the researchers say the solution lies closer to home.

Business School senior marketing lecturer, Drew Franklin.

They argue that the government should focus on breaking up the current major players—Woolworths NZ and the Foodstuffs cooperatives—into smaller, more competitive companies.

“It’s a quicker way to reintroduce competition and bring prices down,” said Franklin.

The Foodstuffs group, which operates New World, PAK’nSave, and Four Square, currently runs as two separate companies—one in the North Island, one in the South.

Despite being legally distinct, they’ve admitted to sharing information and avoiding competition in each other’s regions.

Past mergers have led to the current lack of choice, the experts say, and legislative change could now reverse that trend.

Adopting similar rules to those in the UK or US would allow the government to force supermarket divestments—splitting up large operators into smaller entities.

For Coasties feeling the pinch at the checkout, this shift could open the door to more affordable options—sooner rather than later.

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