At Intermarché, “500 anti-inflation products”; at Carrefour, “200 products sold at 2 euros”; at Système U, “150 products at cost price”; at Casino, “500 products at less than 1 euro and at fixed prices”… The brands are stepping up their communication efforts to attract customers and reassure them in this period of high inflation. But each concocts its own anti-inflation potion recipe on the shelf. A state of affairs endorsed by Bercy, which officially announced, Monday, March 6, the abandonment of its anti-inflation basket project, in favor of an operation called “anti-inflation quarter”.
The Minister of the Economy presented the conclusions of the discussions with the distributors and the agreement reached, at the end of a meeting where all were present, except Michel-Edouard Leclerc, more inclined to communicate on his price comparator. Bruno Le Maire recalled the objectives of the government, anxious to cushion the shock of an inflationary surge unprecedented since the 1970s.
After drawing the tariff shields on the prices of gas and electricity, he wanted to find a solution to food inflation, a sensitive subject if ever there was one. Especially since the cursor reached 14.5% in February. And that new increases are looming, after price negotiations for branded products between manufacturers and distributors, completed on 1er March.
“I believe in free trade”
Initially, Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate in charge of SMEs, had mentioned the establishment of an “anti-inflation basket”, consisting of around fifty basic necessities, the prices of which would have been frozen for the set of signs. This initiative has aroused strong opposition, both from the distributors side and from the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions, concerned about the remuneration of farmers. The project was abandoned.
“I believe in free trade. We cannot block prices administratively,” declared Mr. Le Maire, now advocating the “anti-inflation quarter”. In concrete terms, distributors have full latitude in developing their anti-inflation offer, whether in terms of products, number of items, level of discount and even duration of the operation.
For some, the quarter begins on March 15, for others, it ends on June 15… The only concession: the distributors should attach to the products concerned a tricolor logo bearing the words “anti-inflation quarter”. The government also requires that these operations, which mainly concern private label products, be financed from the margins of the brands. Mr. Le Maire estimates that this should cost them “several hundred million euros”. He took the opportunity to stress the need to respect the Egalim law, and therefore to preserve farmers’ margins.
You have 50.31% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.