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Inflation at the heart of the French government’s concerns
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Retailers put pressure on food producers as negotiations deadline approaches Carrefour has been a vocal critic of consumer goods pricing
(Addition of Carrefour’s activity in Poland, which also distributes Pepsico products, to paragraph 5, and number of stores to paragraph 6)
The president of France’s largest supermarket chain, E. Leclerc, called on all major consumer goods companies to lower their prices while commenting on the decision of rival Carrefour
CARR.PA to abandon Pepsico PEP.O products on the site amid difficult price negotiations.
Grocery retailers in several countries, including Germany and Belgium, have halted orders for some products over the past year, a trading tactic that inflation has made more combative.
In a message published on LinkedIn, Michel-Edouard Leclerc declared: “We must in the coming month convince all these major suppliers who made the mistake of excessively increasing their prices, to lower them now, or to moderate them”
France is embroiled in a debate over commodity prices, with retailers saying producers’ price hikes are unjustified. The government required retailers and suppliers to finish annual price negotiations in January, two months earlier than usual, to reduce inflation.
Carrefour said its stores in France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Poland would no longer carry products such as Pepsi, Lay’s Crisps, Cheetos and 7up due to “unacceptable price increases”.
According to its 2022 annual report, Carrefour has more than 10,000 stores in these five countries, which represents more than two thirds of its global footprint.
In a statement, PepsiCo said: “We have been in discussions with Carrefour for many months and will continue to engage in good faith to try to ensure the availability of our products.”
The French market as a whole represented just 1% of PepsiCo’s revenue in 2022, according to Nielsen figures analyzed by Barclays.
E. Leclerc did not immediately respond to a request for comment and questions about the possible withdrawal of Pepsico or other products.