“Massive price demands”
Edeka boss accuses brand manufacturers of usury
01/14/2023 4:02 p.m
Year after year, large chains such as Edeka, Rewe, Aldi and Lidl bitterly haggle with suppliers about conditions. However, Edeka does not want to get involved in the new planned price increases. Competitor Rewe is also expecting an escalation this year.
In the newly flared up dispute over purchase prices, Edeka CEO Markus Mosa accuses the large food manufacturers of significantly excessive demands. “For 2023 we have massive price demands from the big brand groups on the table again. And that in addition to the price increases that were already enforced in Germany last year. We are fighting back,” said Mosa of the “Bild” newspaper.
It is a tradition that large supermarket chains such as Edeka, Rewe, Aldi and Lidl haggle over prices with suppliers. These price negotiations in the German food trade are regularly fought with hard bandages.
According to Edeka, the additional price demands from suppliers for 2023 already amount to 1.2 billion euros in January. That is only from half of the brand manufacturers, many more demands would follow. Price increases of around 1.5 billion euros were already incurred in 2022.
Escalation expected
The original demands of the industry were more than twice as high. The “Lebensmittel-Zeitung” had previously reported that the negotiations between industry and trade escalated again at the beginning of the year and the price discussions from the previous year continued unabated. According to the trade journal, Edeka competitor Rewe also expects an escalation. An easing of the ongoing price disputes is not in sight.
Already last year there was increasing criticism for hidden price increases. More and more often, people complained to the Hamburg consumer center about shrinking pack sizes while prices remained the same or even increased, said the food expert at the consumer center, Armin Valet. Numerous products were affected, from margarine and confectionery to frozen pizza.