Masstores and Pick n Pay trade blows in Constitutional Court
WALMART-owned retailer Masstores took its battle with Pick n Pay Retailers to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday.The fight is over whether Pick n Pay is entitled to prevent Masstores’ Game from selling fresh foods in its store at the Cape Gate shopping centre, by enforcing an exclusive right to trade as a supermarket.Traditionally, mall anchor tenants, such as Pick n Pay in this case, have some form of exclusivity rights in their lease agreements, with the mall owner agreeing it will be the only supermarket at the mall.These exclusivity arrangements are becoming less common but were the norm for many years.The case may determine how far traders can go in enforcing exclusivity rights against their competitors, even where there was no contract between the two.In terms of a lease agreement with Pick n Pay, the owner of the Cape Gate Centre agreed only Pick n Pay and Checkers would be allowed to conduct the business of a supermarket or to sell fresh food products.In terms of Masstores'...
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