NICK STACE has sat with Sinn Fein and Ulster Unionists at the bargaining table; he has had tough dealings with giant European car manufacturers and survived the political uber-egos of 10 Downing Street.
But it was a meeting that took place in Australia on the morning of June 5 this year that the chief executive of Choice says has been the most hostile and intimidatory in his career. That meeting was with the Woolworths boss Michael Luscombe.
Grocery Choice, a key component of an election promise by the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to control the cost of living, was just three weeks away from its launch. However, the level of alleged animosity Mr Luscombe displayed at that meeting in the Woolworths Norwest head office taught Mr Stace a valuable lesson: that while business has its share of bullies, in Australian big business the rule is play the player, not the ball.
Mr Stace said Mr Luscombe berated him for failing to contact the Woolies boss the moment he arrived in the country to take up his position. The fact that in his first interview, with the Herald in April, he observed that Australians paid more for their groceries than people in most developed countries was taken as a personal insult.
The threat that Choice would feel the full legal might of the giant retail corporation, should it ever inadvertently publish out of date or incorrect information on the website, was repeated four times during the brief 30 minute meeting.
Mr Luscombe has not responded to the Herald's queries, but his head of corporate affairs, Andrew Hall, who was also at the meeting, described the allegations as rubbish.
The meeting was courteous and professional, he said.
"I absolutely refute [Choice's version of events]. Anyone who knows [Mr Luscombe] knows he doesn't act like that in meetings."
Mr Luscombe had merely expressed disappointment, Mr Hall said, over Mr Stace's public criticism of Woolworths, without first attempting to have an introductory meeting.
The Woolworths executive said the two parties hit a brick wall over who would take legal liability for any errors on the website, which would have led to prosecution under the Trade Practices Act, something the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which previously ran the website, had immunity from as it is not a business.
But Bill Davidson, a former Choice board member and now a senior executive with the organisation, has backed up Mr Stace's account, describing Mr Luscombe as "hostile … in a malicious, menacing way".
When the Government pulled the plug on Grocery Choice Choice had to sack two full-time employees. On the up side, the controversy has prompted a 10 per cent rise in new subscriptions. "The Government has miscalculated public opinion on this," Mr Stace said.
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