But less certain is what if any steps the commission might recommend to increase competition or bring down prices for consumers. Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark said in November when he announced the review that New Zealand had one of the “most concentrated retail grocery markets in the world” and there were indications that competition in the sector had weakened over time. One competition expert believed Countdown and Foodstuffs, which owns the New World, Pak’n Save and Four Square chains, might be in for a surprise. Although not tipped as likely when the review was announced, the Commerce Commission could go as far as to recommend “vertically or horizontally separating” the supermarket chains, in its draft report, the expert said.