The ‘organic’ — good for your health… but not for competition?[Le « bio » bon pour la santé… mais pas pour la concurrence ?]

This article examines Decision No. 2024-DEC-02 of the New Caledonian Competition Authority (ACNC) regarding the proposed relocation and expansion of a Naturalia store in Dumbéa. The case highlights one of the distinctive features of New Caledonian competition law, which requires prior control on retail development projects, even when they have a very limited scope. In this instance, despite a modest extension of only 102 m², the ACNC reviewed the notification under an exceptional procedure triggered by a market share threshold (25% within the relevant catchment area). By equating the relevant market with the catchment area, the Authority likely overestimated the notifying party's market power and underestimated the substitution options available to consumers. This reasoning led the ACNC to conclude that the planned extension could strengthen a local dominant position. Even if that were true – which is not – it would still need to de demonstrated that this extension is not based on merit. In practice, however, the project was very unlikely to generate significant anticompetitive effects. The risks mentioned – local dominant position or excessive pressure on suppliers – appear overstated, especially since the Authority already has ex post tools to sanction potential abuses. Conversely, blocking the expansion deprives consumers of a broader product offering and risks stifling a dynamic operator in the organic sector. This decision illustrates the potentially counterproductive consequences of ex ante control over retail developments in New Caledonia, and by extension, in French Polynesia. Far from fostering competition, such preventive mechanisms may freeze market structures, discourage investment, and send a negative signal to economic stakeholders. A more effective approach would be to refocus the Authority's action on sanctioning actual abuses of dominant position, rather than on hindering normal internal growth dynamics.