Woolworths Limited
(ASX:WOW) and Wesfarmers Limited
(ASX:WES) owned Coles will establish a dispute resolution body with the Australian Food and Grocery Council according to media reports.
The announcement of the body comes as the retail giants finalise negotiations over a voluntary code of conduct set to govern their interactions.
The majority of the code has reportedly been agreed to, with issues over the supermarkets' in-house brands the key point of contention.
Once the code is in place, a roundtable will be established including a forum where retailers and manufacturers can discuss their issues.
The move has been reported as a bid to minimise the retailers’ exposure to regulatory and political attention.
Woolworths generated a net profit of 1.16 billion in the first half of the current financial year.
