Quebecor says it has filed a complaint with the Competition Bureau regarding an agreement between Loblaw and wireless service operators Bell and Rogers, through their joint venture Glentel.
The company says the deal would give Bell and Rogers exclusive sales rights at The Mobile Shop counters and would exclude Quebecor’s Freedom Mobile from the 180 Loblaw-owned grocery stores.
Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau maintains that the agreement between Loblaw and Glentel conceals an attempt by dominant players in the telecommunications market to thwart competition.
The Mobile Store currently lists plans for sale from the four major Canadian operators or their subsidiaries on its website.
In a May 9 letter addressed to Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Mr. Péladeau wrote that Loblaw described this agreement as a routine decision regarding suppliers to its stores, but he called it “a ploy designed to exclude certain operators in favor of Glentel.
Loblaw, Rogers and Bell did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Quebecor’s complaint.
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