BOSSES at some of the country's biggest retailers have warned that a Yes vote in the independence referendum will lead to higher prices at the tills.
Asda's chief executive Andy Clarke said yesterday that his company benefitted from "major efficiencies and economies of scale" by being part of the United Kingdom. He added that these would be diluted if the firm had to set up a separate business in Scotland, which has 61 Asda shops and depots.
"If we were no longer to operate in one state with one market and - broadly - one set of rules, our business model would inevitably become more complex," he said. "We would have to reflect our cost to operate here."
"This is not an argument for or against independence, it is simply an honest recognition of the costs that change could bring. For us the customer is always right and this important decision is in their hands."
The chairman of John Lewis, Sir Charlie Mayfield, said his firm would probably start to price in the additional cost of transporting goods to Scotland if it split from the rest of the UK.
"[A Yes vote] would raise business risk that would affect our business, and I think most other retailers have said the same," he told the BBC.
Jackie Baillie, a Labour MSP and Better Together supporter, said: "The cost of doing business here is higher than the rest of the UK, but because we pool and share resources that keeps costs down. If we vote for separation then we are voting for higher shopping prices."
Finance Secretary John Swinney said: "Charlie Mayfield is entitled to his opinion. I think the argument is one that is firmly contested by other retailers who do not take the view that has been expressed this morning by Charlie Mayfield."
Other retailers said there were too many uncertainties to properly forecast prices. Wm Morrison chief executive Dalton Philips said yesterday that he intended to keep prices the same in all of his shops, but added: "I could also say it would lower prices as well. It depends on what policies the Scottish Government implements."
Simon Wolfson, the chief executive of Next, said he was worried about the economic effects of independence but that his business would not be affected immediately in the event of a Yes vote.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article