They’re serious about their food price controls in France. French supermarket chain Carrefour has pulled Pepsi brands from its shelves over price hikes. Pepsi recently raised prices sharply on a wide range products everywhere…
The Carrefour supermarket chain – one of France’s largest – has decided to ditch Pepsi-branded products after a dispute over recent Pepsi price increases. Pepsi, Lay’s chips, Quaker cereals and Lipton teas, among other products, are included under the ‘deletions’ from Carrefour’s inventory.
At the empty spaces left on Carrefour’s shelves by the removal of Pepsi products, the chain has posted explanatory notes:
“We are no longer selling this brand due to unacceptable price increases. We apologize for any inconvenience caused,” CNN affiliate BFM-TV reports
Failed negotiations
Carrefour is big a enough buyer that it can put pressure on suppliers and manufacturers to keep prices down. Negotiations with other major brands have been successful in keeping retail prices down. Pepsi insists negotiations with Carrefour are ongoing. In spite of the chain dropping its products. But that’s really just another way of putting pressure on Pepsi.
The truth is, Carrefour wants Pepsi products in its stores as much as Pepsi wants them to be there. Both companies stand to lose big in sales if the ‘inventory deletion’ becomes permanent. It’s just a question of which side caves first.
Advantage, Carrefour…
The supermarket chain has the upper hand in this dance involving two corporate elephants, each trying to outlast the other. It also has stores in Italy, Spain and Belgium. And it’s announced it will pull Pepsi products from those outlets as well. And Carrefour can offer competing products to Pepsi fans – probably, at least, initially – at ‘special introductory prices’.
My take
And the longer it takes for Pepsi and Carrefour to come to an agreement, the more likely it is that Pepsi fans will change allegiances to Coke or other comparable products. If that happens, it will take a lot of time, effort and money for Pepsi to win former fans back.
~ Maggie J.