Distributors and farmers, opposed to the executive’s project, have won their showdown. Intermarché and Carrefour announced this Sunday their own device.
The government has decided: there will be no anti-inflation basket common to all distributors, contrary to what had been put forward by the various ministers since December. At Figaro, the Ministry of the Economy claims to favor a formula on a case-by-case basis, which according to them allows them to be able to reach more products, and over a longer period, of at least three months. “Ultimately, consumers are winners, we guarantee at Bercy. This basket is not an end, but a tool to lower the bill, and this will be possible thanks to this device.»
This confirms the words of Alexandre Bompard, CEO of Carrefour. In the JDD, he explained that he had reached an agreement with the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire. “He decided to leave everyone the freedom to define the operations of their choice.“explains the leader in the columns of the weekly. And to praise thefull autonomy of action» that this gives them: «The result will be all the more powerful.»
200 two-euro products at Carrefour
If Carrefour had already introduced a basket of fifteen fruits and vegetables sold for less than euros last year, this is a much broader device. From mid-March, the brand will offer 200 products on average at two euros, and at fixed prices until mid-June. “This is our way of mobilizing for the purchasing power of our customers», Comments Carrefour at Figaro.
This concerns one hundred everyday products (flour, biscuits, detergent, nappies) and one hundred other labeled “healthy» (yogurts, eggs, fresh vegetables, bread, milk, cereals), all with a Nutri-Score A and B, under the Carrefour and Simpl brands. The composition of this basketessential and nutritionwas determined during round tables with customers. It will be marketed in the linear of its 5945 French stores within ten days, indicates Alexandre Bompard. The latter specifies that this represents an investment of “several tens of millions of euros“.
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“Indispensable dynamics”
At the same time, Intermarché is launching its campaign this Sunday, March 5, with 500 anti-inflation products, including 470 under its own brands and 30 fresh foods from traditional shelves – meat, fish, fruit or vegetables. “It is thanks to its own factories and its work to squeeze margins that Intermarché can offer its customers products under its own brands at affordable prices.“, they write in the press release.
Thierry Cotillard, president of Groupement Les Mousquetaires, also points out that this initiative “is one of the essential dynamics that all responsible players must accelerate, in the service of consumer purchasing power and our economy“. Intermarché will also offer, each week, a selection of three traditional fresh products from its butchery, seafood, fruit and vegetable departments, at “unbeatable price“.
In addition, their competitor Système U had announced at the beginning of February, its basket of “150 products at cost price“, for a “indefinite period“. For his part, E. Leclerc relies on a price comparison. “We are attacking inflation from every angle by spreading out the increases but also by taking on our margins, item by item, to continue to be the cheapest. And to prove it, beyond a major promotional program, you need to be able to compare and be reassured., justifies Michel-Edouard Leclerc, president of the strategic committee on his blog. The brand intends to regularly publish reports of these comparisons, thus hoping “revive competition“and that each”lines up downward“.
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A device that protects “all French people”
This echoes Christiane Lambert’s statement this Saturday on France Info. The president of the FNSEA (National Federation of Farmers’ Unions) said that she had met Bruno Le Maire at the Agricultural Show and that he had confirmed to her that the anti-inflation basket “will not happen“. Instead, the government is askingdistributors to make zero margin on certain products“, she added. The Ministry of the Economy agrees with the Figaro : “We do not expect farmers or SMEs let them make an effort, but the big groups do.”
Indeed, inflation picked up again in February, by 6.2% over one year, after 6% in January. An increase attributable to the jump in food prices of 14.5% over one year, according to INSEE. In response, at the start of the week, the Minister of the Economy promised at the start of the week the imminent establishment of a device which protects “all French people”. Bruno Le Maire evoked the will “to offer a way out to all consumers who are struggling to make ends meet“, ensuring in passing that”everyone is affected by food inflation“. He then called on distributors and manufacturers to “do their part“. And to insist:Not everything can be paid for by the state“.