Supermarket Morrisons is in negotiations with suppliers about securing better terms just six months after it called them in and asked for discounts.
The move came just weeks after the retailer reported a 2.5% drop in like-for-like sales over Christmas.
Last summer suppliers agreed to discounts of up to £500,000, the Daily Mail reported.
Morrisons said that it was holding “routine negotiations” which it did every year on base price, range and promotions. It is understood negotiations six months ago were extraordinary as the supermarket reviewed the number of products it stocked.
A Morrisons spokesman said: “We have not had any successful complaints under the groceries code and we are absolutely a fair supermarket.
“We are at the point where we are doing structured joint business plans for the next year.”
Last June, Morrisons called in its suppliers to offer bigger volumes for a lower price, which it said should mean their businesses would be more profitable overall.
The talks come after Christine Tacon was revealed as the Groceries Code Adjuducator last week, who is charged with overseeing the sometimes volatile relationship between supplier and retailer.
Tacon said she was considering setting maximum fines if supermarkets change the terms of suppliers’ contracts illegally.
The Groceries Code Adjudicator’s office will get its powers later this year when the code is formally passed into law.
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