Is it too late to stop the supermarket sweep?

Planning restrictions on the dominance of supermarkets, currently the subject of a Competition Commission inquiry, will do little to help independent practices compete, an Optician poll of optical outlets has revealed.

As Optician went to press, the Commission was due to publish findings of a two-year inquiry which, as part of its wider remit, sought to explore if supermarket expansion had harmed local businesses and whether planning restrictions should be imposed to curb supermarket dominance.

In recent years, supermarkets have steadily increased the number of in-store optical practices. Last month, Tesco announced it would double the number of practices in the coming year. Meanwhile, Asda revealed that it intended to open 16 practices but said the plans had not all been signed off.