The massed ranks of anti-supermarket do-gooders had pinned an awful lot of hope on the probe. What they failed to realise - and was confirmed by yesterday's announcement - is that the Competition Commission has a very limited remit. As its name would suggest, its sole concern is ensuring that the consumer is not at a disadvantage because of the power of the big players.
That means the inquiry won't be about propping up failing independents, or returning the nation's high streets to a mythical golden age where everyone visits a butcher, a baker and a fishmonger every day.
That's not to say the inquiry presents no threat to the supermarkets, but the most likely changes are going to be to the planning system and, if they're sensible, they could free up the constipated development pipeline where the current outdated system means schemes can take as much of a decade from site purchase to completion.
The CC's statement that it will try to keep the process as quick as possible is also good news. An inquiry is a massive undertaking for the supermarkets, but yesterday's announcement shows it understands the pressures it will put them under, and will try to minimise them. That can only be good news.
Sir Terry Leahy yesterday gave a rare and witty insight into how he made it from a graduate trainee at the Co-op to being the third most powerful retailer in the world. Speaking at a BRC conference in London, he outlined the role that luck and two mentors who had real faith in him, played in propelling him through the ranks at Tesco.
The most perceptive comment though was a rather obvious one, but fascinating in a world where job status is seen as ever more important. It's not people who are obsessed by their career who rise to the top, said Leahy, but those who are passionate about their work. Food for thought indeed.
No comments yet