RAA Submission to: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Caltex Australia Ltd proposed acquisition of the fuel division of Scotts Group

Transcription

1 RAA Submission to: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Caltex Australia Ltd proposed acquisition of the fuel division of Scotts Group Page 1 of 9

2 Background RAA provides a comprehensive fuel advisory and information service to RAA members, the general public, media, industry stakeholders and the private sector. It is noteworthy that even government agencies approach the RAA for current and historical data as they are unable to easily source this information elsewhere. RAA aims to make the South Australian fuel retail market as transparent as possible; through the provision of its own comprehensive website and maintaining detailed information on all matters relating to fuel prices, and through its assistance to RAA members with specific fuel-related information. Fuel data is collected and analysed daily including: regional and global benchmark commodity prices; exchange rates; local and interstate Terminal Gate Price; local, regional and interstate retail averages; fuel demand, supply and production; and weekly fuel shipping movements. On average, RAA s Public Affairs group fields 10 phone calls per day from RAA members and the public on fuel-related issues. During peak periods (i.e. periods of intense media coverage and speculation), the Public Affairs group would take one telephone call every 10 minutes and receive media/stakeholder enquiries per day. Question 1 In previous assessments of the petrol industry, the ACCC has analysed local markets for the retail supply of fuel in metropolitan areas by looking at geographic areas of 3-5km as a starting point followed by taking into account local factors such as road layout and traffic flows. In respect of customers purchasing of fuel in regional areas and, in particular, the regional areas identified in Attachment B the ACCC would appreciate an understanding of: the distance customers travel to buy fuel the distance that customers would be prepared to travel to take advantage of lower fuel prices at another location the influence of customer travel patterns on which service stations they frequent. RAA does not have specific research that explores the element of distance on country motorists decision making process of when and where they refuel. However RAA s fuel advisory service regularly receives feedback from country motorist s behaviour relating to local fuel prices. Local Competition Anecdotally, RAA is aware that country motorists travelling to neighbouring townships will take advantage of fuel price differences, otherwise motorists generally refuel from local retailers where they will either purchase fuel based either on price, loyalty or habit. Page 2 of 9

3 In the case of Mount Gambier, the town is South Australia s second largest and has a high number of fuel retailers due to population size, geographic location and the town s local transport industry. Mount Gambier s service stations lie within a 3km distance from the town s centre and each service station lies 5km from all other sites when depots are excluded (Figure 1). RAA s experience is Mount Gambier motorists are price sensitive and attracted to retailers that offer consistently competitive prices. Local motorists regularly travel distances where they could access any Mount Gambier service stations in their daily activities. Figure 1: Mount Gambier s Service Stations Neighbouring Townships Motorists in smaller townships can be motivated to travel to larger neighbouring towns to take advantage of lower priced goods and services. RAA member research indicates SA country motorists will most often drive more than 30kms to their primary destination and use their vehicles most days. Anecdotally, RAA is aware that motorists will travel upto 50kms to access cheaper goods and services. For example, many Lameroo motorists will travel 40km to Pinnaroo regularly to save on their fuel and food purchases. Currently there is a 10 cent per litre price difference between the towns and is large enough to motivate some Lameroo motorists to travel elsewhere. Isolation Due to Distance Many country motorists do not have the option to access cheaper goods and services in a neighbouring town due to distance. For example, Kingston SE and Robe are similarly sized towns but are isolated from larger townships by distances of 80km or more. RAA often receives complaints regarding elevated fuel prices in Kingston SE and Robe compared to townships elsewhere in south east South Australia. In the case of Robe and Kingston SE, the distance to larger towns severely limits Page 3 of 9

4 motorist s choice to refuel as the benefit of accessing cheaper fuel elsewhere is negated by the travel cost and time. This empowers local retailers to charge a higher price, burdening local motorists with higher fuel prices. RAA s experience is an assessment of retailers within a 3 to 5 km radius is inadequate as it doesn t consider the general refuelling behaviour of motorists that generally will either shop around within town or even travel to a neighbouring town. RAA s analysis indicates this proposed acquisition will impact Robe and Kingston SE that are isolated from larger neighbouring townships and whom RAA often receives complaints regarding high fuel prices. The ACCC s assessment should consider any negative competitive impacts on these townships to ensure the burden of fuel prices does not increase. Question 2 The ACCC understands that a number of the Scotts retail sites which Caltex proposes to acquire are within 3-5km of an existing Caltex site. Please provide any comments regarding the likely effect of the proposed acquisition on competition in these areas. In doing so, please comment on the following: a. whether the Scotts retail site(s) plays an important competitive role through its pricing, discounts and/or non-fuel offer (e.g. convenience store) b. whether the Caltex retail site(s) plays an important competitive role through its pricing, discounts and/or non-fuel offers c. the extent of competition Caltex is likely to face from rival retail fuel sites within each relevant area post-acquisition, taking into account the fuel and non-fuel offers of the remaining rival retail fuel sites. RAA currently collects site specific prices for 10 of Mount Gambier s 18 retail fuel sites once per week which includes five Scotts Petroleum and two Caltex retail sites 1. To determine each site s pricing position relative to the monitored sites, each site s unleaded petrol, diesel and autogas prices were compared to the survey average price (see Table 1). The analysis revealed: Caltex s fuel prices were all lower than Scott s sites o o 2 nd cheapest unleaded price same price at both locations 2 nd and 3 rd cheapest diesel price 1 RAA currently collects fuel prices for the following Scotts sites: 195 Commercial West Street, 115 Commercial Street East, 32 Bay Road, 82 Jubilee highway, 144c Penola Road. Page 4 of 9

5 o 4 th and 5 th cheapest autogas price Scott s prices were the most expensive prices of the retail sites monitored for each fuel type. Table 1: Scotts and Caltex s Mount Gambier Retail Prices vs Town Average (July 2013 to Present) Brand Address ULP DSL LPG Scotts 195 Commercial Street West +1.8cpl +2.8cpl +5.5cpl Scotts 115 Commercial Street East -0.7cpl NA +4.0cpl Scotts 32 Bay Road -0.7cpl -0.02cpl +1.0cpl Scotts 82 Jubilee Highway +2.2cpl +3.5cpl +5.8cpl Scotts 144c Penola Road +2.5cpl +2.6cpl +5.4cpl Caltex 141 Commercial Street West -1.1cpl -1.5cpl -1.0cpl Caltex 29 Penola Road -1.1cpl -1.6cpl -2.0cpl Scotts currently owns 13 regional South Australian retail sites across seven country townships in the south east South Australia. RAA does not have site specific fuel prices for Millicent, Kingston SE, Naracoorte, Penola, Robe or Tintinara to determine the existing Scotts retail sites position within these markets nor the effect on competition. The ACCC should assess the role of Scotts retail sites in each market Rivals Post Acquisition Caltex has proposed to acquire retail sites in seven South Australian townships. These townships vary in population size, but many of these townships have seen a reduction in the number of retail fuel outlets servicing the local community over the last decade. This has diminished both choice for motorists and competition amongst remaining retailers. Generally, RAA s assessment is that in most cases Caltex s proposed acquisition lies within towns that Caltex does not currently own a retail site. However there are specific issues RAA wishes to highlight: Robe Caltex s acquisition will compete directly with the only rival retailer in Robe who is a Caltex supplied Ampol independent. Caltex s acquisition will likely affect the Independent s willingness to compete with their suppliers retail site and should be assessed. Page 5 of 9

6 Millicent Currently Millicent has four retail sites of which there is one Caltex branded site operated by K&S Group 2. Post-acquisition Caltex will expand its market presence to 50% in Millicent. The ACCC should determine whether this acquisition would have a harmful effect on local competition and prices. Question 3 Please comment on the propensity of customers in the relevant area to vary their normal petrol buying habits in response to a change in prices. In particular, please comment on the importance of the following characteristics in customer decisions on fuel purchases in the relevant area: a. location of a service station b. the facilities of a service station (e.g. convenience store offering) c. the operator of a service station (e.g. BP branded stations) d. the particular brand of petrol or type supplied (e.g. Caltex or Caltex Vortex premium unleaded petrol). Generally, consumers consider fuel blends as a homogenous product where the brand of a fuel outlet is a lesser consideration than price. A 2013 national study found 36% of motorists selected a blend of fuel based on price followed by the vehicle manufacturer s recommendation (32%) and vehicle manufacturer s requirements (20%). Although the study highlighted that price is the key consideration when selecting a service station, country service stations attracts customers for their in-store offerings. 71% of country motorists indicated they purchased a product in-store when they refuelled compared to 64% of metropolitan motorists. Country South Australian service stations are generally the only business in the town operating outside of normal business hours so will attract customers for not only fuel, but also food. Country motorists refuel more often as they drive greater distances and rely solely on the vehicle rather than alternative transport modes. As they refuel more often, it also motivates motorists to shop around where possible. RAA research indicates that 50% of SA country motorists will shop around at least some of the time to find the cheapest prices whereas only 10% will never shop around. Fuel prices remain the most important factor for country motorists when choosing when and where they refuel. 2 K&S Corporation Ltd (2014) K&S Fuels Service Stations, Page 6 of 9

7 Question 4 To what extent do petrol card arrangements, shopper docket discounts or any other promotions or arrangements affect the loyalty of customers to a particular site or brand in the relevant areas? RAA research indicates that 51% of country South Australian motorists use supermarket shopper dockets most of the time. This usage is likely to be higher as only one third of South Australia s country population has a ColesExpress or Woolworths branded site in town. This assessment captures two towns that have supermarket styled shopper docket discounts, namely Naracoorte and Mount Gambier. RAA s analysis suggests the town of most interest to this assessment is Mount Gambier which currently has a Scott s site offering a shopper docket styled discount. The Mount Gambier retail sites offer a shopper docket discount: Woolworths Caltex Mount Gambier 4cpl via $30 spend in Woolworths supermarket Woolworths Caltex Mt Gambier Marketplace 4cpl via $30 spend in Woolworths supermarket ColesExpress Mount Gambier 4cpl via $30 spend in Woolworths supermarket Scotts Jubilee Highway Service Station 4cpl via $20 spend via EasyFuel program RAA does not have sufficient information to determine whether the above Scotts retail site had a competitive effect on neighbouring sites prices through it fuel discount offering. The ACCC should assess the likely impact due to the removal of this fuel discount on rival s fuel prices. Question 7 Please comment on current importance of these five sites in competition to retail fuel supply in Nhill and Mt Gambier. In responding you may wish to comment on: a. the nature of the sites, including whether their appearance, size and convenience store is comparable to other retail fuel sites in the area b. whether the sites are located on a road with high levels of traffic c. whether the sites currently play an important role in influencing the price of retail fuel or non-price offers (e.g. shopper docket discounts) in Nhill or Mt Gambier. RAA s analysis focused on Mount Gambier in South Australia and the effects of the proposed divesture by Caltex. All Caltex or Scotts sites currently lie on high traffic volume road corridors within Mount Gambier including the Princes & Riddoch Highways and the town s main street - Commercial Street. All retails sites are well positioned to maximise their exposure to traffic travelling in all Page 7 of 9

8 directions. It is RAA s opinion there are no physical road barriers preventing motorists from accessing the retail sites. The proposed divesture by Caltex post-acquisition would reduce the number of Caltex sites from 50% to 33% of retail sites, lower than the original number of Scott s retail sites preacquisition (Figure 2). Post-divesture, Caltex retail sites will still service each major road corridor in Mount Gambier. Figure 2: Mount Gambier s Service Stations Post Caltex Divesture As RAA is aware country motorists frequently travel 5kms to their primary destination and will shop around for fuel, Mount Gambier motorists will still travel amongst the remaining retail sites to find cheaper fuel prices. RAA s analysis in Question 2 indicated that Caltex s retail fuel prices were cheaper than Scott s retail sites when surveyed and where both Caltex sites had uniform prices. Therefore if Caltex continues to implement its price policy relative to rivals and set all Caltex retail sites as a single price, it would actually lower Mount Gambier s average retail price. If Caltex sets different prices at each retail site, the impact on remaining rivals may change in response and should be considered by the ACCC. Although RAA s analysis doesn t reveal any obvious concerns regarding the Caltex position post-divesture, RAA recommends the ACCC review the divesture to ensure there are no anti-competitive impacts. Question 8 Please comment on whether the acquisition of each of these sites by any other particular fuel retailer would potentially impact retail fuel competition in Nhill and Mt Gambier. Page 8 of 9

9 Without specific information as to who will acquire the divested assets, RAA comments are provided for discussion only. There are three likely scenarios for the sale of the divested sites with different potential impacts on retail competition: Sold solely to a New Market Participant entity would become the second largest retailer in Mount Gambier Sold to existing Market Participant/s potential for entity to become the largest retailer in Mount Gambier based on retail volumes Sold to both Existing and New Market Participant/s combination of the above. In each example, RAA recommends the ACCC should assess any potential competition impacts. Other issues To ensure the health of competition within the industry, the ACCC must continue to monitor all acquisitions within Adelaide s retail fuel industry, not only acquisitions of multiple sites. The health of Adelaide s fuel retail market relies on both the presence of large fuel retailers, but also small independent retailers. I trust the above information is of assistance. Should you wish to discuss any aspect in greater detail, please feel free to make direct contact with RAA Senior Manager Automotive & Mobility Mark Borlace on or mborlace@raa.com.au. Page 9 of 9