XPost: alt.retail.grocery, misc.consumers, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   Europe’s supermarkets are going to war with major suppliers in a battle   
   over “shrinkflation.” But two of the biggest chains appear to be at odds   
   over how they most effectively strong-arm companies like Unilever and   
   PepsiCo into dropping prices.   
      
   The chairman of E.Leclerc, France’s biggest supermarket chain, has vowed   
   to keep stocking PepsiCo products on the group’s shelves days after   
   appearing to back his main competitor’s plan to scrap the products over   
   rising prices.   
      
   Last week, French supermarket group Carrefour said it was removing PepsiCo   
   items including 7 Up and Doritos from its stores in France, Italy, Spain,   
   Belgium, and Poland.   
      
   It followed a monthslong tussle with PepsiCo and other brands over acts of   
   shrinkflation, where suppliers reduce the sizes and contents of their   
   items without reducing prices.   
      
   Carrefour exposed PepsiCo with labels on its shelves last year noting the   
   product changes ahead of its annual price negotiations. It had also   
   entered negotiations with Unilever and Nestlé after noticing similar   
   shrinkage trends.   
      
   E.Leclerc decides against ‘show of strength’   
   While Carrefour has the benefit of government backing in what has become a   
   highly politicized issue, it looks like it might be harder to goad the   
   group’s competitors into an all-out war against suppliers.   
      
   In a post on Linkedin Friday, E.Leclerc chair Michel-Edouard Leclerc   
   referenced Carrefour’s decision to pull PepsiCo products last week, as   
   well as the group’s ongoing price negotiations with suppliers.   
      
   “Like you, we are fed up with inflation,” Leclerc wrote. “You feel like   
   you've been cheated. And since we're in a period of negotiations, we're   
   putting pressure on our suppliers…And we put pressure on ourselves!”   
      
   Speaking on French news channel BFMTV Monday, Leclerc again spoke about   
   the country’s price negotiations, the deadline of which is the end of   
   January. He added that he would be asking supplier Danone for deflation in   
   E.Leclerc stores.   
      
   However, Leclerc said his supermarket wouldn’t yet escalate tensions to   
   Carrefour’s level, preferring to convince the group to lower prices so it   
   can increase revenues.   
      
   "I continue to sell Pepsi," Leclerc said.   
      
   "We can tell suppliers: See with lower prices you can build up revenue,   
   and I think this argument will prevail over a show of strength.”   
      
   Leclerc’s sentiment suggests some fractures in how different retailers are   
   challenging suppliers to lower prices, with E.Leclerc backing a more   
   passive approach. It may also help pull customers from Carrefour over to   
   one of its biggest rivals.   
      
   In a statement to Fortune, a representative for PepsiCo said, "We've been   
   in discussion with Carrefour for many months, and we will continue to   
   engage in good faith in order to try to ensure that our products are   
   available."   
      
   Constant price rises   
   The pricing strategies of major suppliers have come under the spotlight in   
   recent months, following years of price rises blamed on supply-chain   
   shocks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of   
   Ukraine.   
      
   Despite that rationale, recent research instead suggests that profiteering   
   was a major driver of price rises.   
      
   A December study of 1,300 corporations by the IPPR and Common Wealth   
   showed profits rose much faster than costs in 2022. Companies in a   
   position to take the most advantage of supply shocks, like oil and gas   
   giant Shell and food supplier Kraft Heinz, enjoyed the biggest jumps in   
   profit.   
      
   Now, as inflation falls back toward central bank targets of 2%, pressure   
   is increasing on suppliers to lower the prices of their products.   
      
   Representatives for E.Leclerc and Carrefour didn’t immediately respond to   
   Fortune’s requests for comment.   
      
   https://finance.yahoo.com/news/supermarket-chain-pulled-pepsico-products-   
   121411326.html   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)