Speeches by Maynard.

“Okay, but I have seven here. What is weird about this is that you say you are competitors, but you co-own a whole load of companies together. You cannot really say, “I co-own something together, but we are competing”.”

“It does not work that way.”

“Again, the words “vampire squid” are going through my head, but maybe “octopus” is better. It is just the wraparound.”

“Yes, it seems to be a good analogy for what is going on here.”

“Ed, I would like to ask about gendered price disparities. According to the data I have, women’s shower gel is sold, on average, at £5.49, whereas men’s shower gel averages £1.04—five times less. Obviously, the cost difference is nothing. There might be the odd difference in ingredients, but very small amounts. What do …”

“Looking down the list—shower gel, shampoo, deodorant, fragrance, razors, moisturiser, face wash and cleanser—it is throughout the whole gamut. Are you saying that this does not happen in your stores?”

“It does not happen in your stores. Dominic, what about yours?”

“You are saying that this does not happen with your own-brand products, unless there is an incredibly good reason such as a difference in ingredients. What about other people’s brands? Do you have no role in that? Do you have a discussion with those manufacturers?”

“Do you track those gaps over time to see whether they are narrowing? Would it not be a good idea that both of your companies track those gaps? These gaps are obviously something that you do not want to happen, but this is what we are hearing. Are you actively tracking and trying to narrow those gaps between men’s and w…”

“Are the gaps narrowing?”

“Okay, but we have a massive discrepancy between men’s and women’s costs. If this data is correct, which I believe it is, it would be good to hear, “We acknowledge that this is a problem, and we are tracking this thing and working with our suppliers to close this gap”. I am not really hearing that.”

“We will share this information with you so that you can see these gaps.”

“Good afternoon. These questions are to whoever would most like to answer them. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 and came into force on 6 April this year. Until today—I am aware of the Google announcement—there have not been any actions taken under the DMCC Act. I f…”

“I have two more questions. First, back at the beginning of the year we had a conversation with your colleagues about subscription-specific rules. We had a discussion about the meaning of “spring 2026” and whether “spring” meant April or October. I would love some confirmation today of whether “spring” does indeed mean …”

“We should go to DBT on that?”

“Okay, we will. Thirdly, I am impressed that you were listening to the previous sessions. Thank you for doing that. On Ticketmaster, what is going on feels completely egregious. The data seems to be very strong, although Phil and Andrew did a nice stonewalling job. What is it going to take for the CMA to get on to this?…”

“Just in terms of that market study, the stats are in the public domain. This is nothing that is not out there already. What is the consideration for not kicking off a market study or market investigation, whichever has the most teeth, now?”

“I have one final question. You employ more than 1,000 people in the CMA. We have covered three or four areas today that are very problematic. We are only chewing through three to four a year. If I was a corporate up to tricks, I would be pretty happy about that. Is the CMA applying itself to working out how we could do…”

“As I understand it, Live Nation Entertainment has four divisions. In terms of ticketing, Ticketmaster has more than 60%, according to The Guardian. The Competition Commission had you at 50% 15 years ago. In terms of festivals and venues, it is 25% according to the Association of Independent Festivals. Of venues, 18 are…”

“Primary concert ticketing was 60%. The Competition Commission had you at 50% 15 years ago. Do you not recognise that?”