Tex Edwards Takes on the Supermarkets

It was only a matter of time before the force behind budding new supermarket chain Northelia was outed as 2degrees founder Tex Edwards. Northelia was a submitter to the Commerce Commission's market study on the grocery industry.

I remember Tex arriving at my office around 2000 under a pretext and insisting on closing the curtains because he was concerned that incumbents had people tracking his movements. Such were the stakes that he might well have been right. It was then that I learned of a plan to break the Telecom/Vodafone market duopoly.

Tex is exactly the right guy for this. I worked alongside him from the very first days when 2degrees (then known as Econet) was being conceived until, against all the odds, he finally got it operating almost a decade later.

Tex's unique style sometimes conceals his exceptional intellect, acumen, and unswerving passion for monopoly-busting. He is extremely well-connected in financial circles. If he says he can unlock the money needed, I believe him.

Well done to Tom Pullar Strecker at Stuff for digging beneath the surface - Tom was an IT journalist from way back who covered the breakup of Telecom in the 2000s before becoming Senior Business Journalist. Its starting to feel like the old team re-forming.

Meanwhile Minister David Clark has pushed out the Commission's deadline by a few months. Whether this is good or bad remains to be seen. Kiwi shoppers cant afford for monopoly prices to carry on, but on the other hand the job must be done properly.

Go Tex - you've saved NZ from one ugly duopoly and you can do it again. But remember this time the need is even more urgent - we have low income families going without food. Your involvement should add impetus for all the key players - the ComCom team, MPs, and Minister David Clark.