The case in summary Alkovettorganisationen Every now and then expresses concern about the price war on alcohol products in Norway. General secretary of Av-og-til, Ragnhild Kaski, believes that the shops should choose products other than alcohol in the price war. The Directorate of Health is also not enthusiastic about this development and encourages the trade to cut prices on healthy things. Figures from FHI show that there are an estimated 90,000 children in Norway who grow up with a mum or dad who drinks too much. Coop, Rema 1000 and Kiwi have all reduced the price of beer, but emphasize that they have also cut the price of non-alcoholic products. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – When it comes to alcohol, a price war is a very bad idea. That’s what Ragnhild Kaski, general secretary of the alcovet organization Av-og-til, says. Recently, news has discussed the price war between the retail chains in Norway, where, among other things, Nonstop, Christmas sausage, gingerbread dough and various other things are being reduced in price. Alcohol products have now also entered this category. Among other things, Ringnes’ Christmas beer has been reduced to around NOK 20, from more than NOK 30 as usual. With a price like that, you can get a six-pack for the price some restaurants charge for a pint these days, NOK 120. Christmas beer at Coop Extra in Bodø that is stacked on top of each other. It is easy to see what is most important. Photo: Kai Jæger Kristoffersen / news – It is only natural that people want lower prices in the run-up to Christmas. And that the price war has become a common phenomenon before Christmas in the shops. But I wish the shops would choose items other than alcohol. – What are you thinking about then? – Research is clear that we buy more if the price is lower, or they feel that something is on offer. Christmas is already a time when we drink more alcohol than usual, and we spend a lot of time with our own and other people’s children. Many people dread Christmas, precisely because a family member will get too drunk, so this is not a good idea. General secretary of Av-og-til, Ragnhild Kaski. Photo: Bård Gundersen / About 90,000 children in Norway The Norwegian Directorate of Health is also not enthusiastic about this development in the price war. – The Directorate of Health is generally not in favor of pushing alcohol. We don’t think anything of it. It is not illegal, but we would rather encourage the trade to have price cuts on healthy things than on unhealthy products, says Divisional Director for Public Health and Prevention in the Directorate of Health, Linda Granlund, to P4 news. Kaski says that she hopes that the shops will now do a complete turnaround, and drop the price war on goods with alcohol. Do you think the shops should lower the price of Christmas beer? Yes, it is already so expensive! No, I think that is unnecessary. I don’t care about that, I don’t drink beer anyway. Show result – Don’t you think grown people can control themselves, even if they have a few extra pints at their disposal in the house? – Alcohol plays an important role for many at Christmas. This is not about us stopping drinking. I just wish the shops took responsibility, and chose not to have a price war on alcohol. There are many other items that can be used to lure customers into the stores. And there are quite a few children who experience drunk parents at Christmas. Figures from FHI say that there are 90,000 children in Norway who grow up with a mum or dad who drinks too much. – But it is probably a low estimate with large dark figures. Then come the children who occasionally find that they drink too much. We get many stories from children and those who are now adults, who say that Christmas is a particularly demanding time. Coop: – Trust in customers Coop has received criticism from Av-og-til, and has been asked why they are lowering the price of beer. Communications advisor at Coop, Simen Kjønnås Thorsen, writes to news by e-mail that the biggest price drops are for alcohol-free beer. – We hope that Av og til agrees that it is important to offer affordable, alcohol-free alternatives. That’s why we’ve cut the price of non-alcoholic beer sharply, where some varieties have been reduced by as much as 72 per cent. It is therefore on non-alcoholic beer that the big price drops are. Communications advisor at Coop, Simen Kjønnås Thorsen, says that Coop has had the biggest price cut on non-alcoholic beer. Photo: Espen Solli / Coop They confirm, however, that the price of regular beer has also been reduced. – It is true that some Christmas beers have fallen in price, due to fierce competition in the market. We trust that our customers buy and consume beer responsibly. – Have you experienced that Christmas beer has been put down with so much in the past, or is this the most ever? – We are in a period of particularly tough price competition and frequent price adjustments. Extra must be the cheapest on all products that customers want for Christmas and Christmas beer, both with and without alcohol are popular products. We do what we can to ensure that the customers, who own us, do the cheapest Christmas shopping at Extra. Coop Extra Bankgata in Bodø is also participating in the price war between the stores, for example Christmas beer. Photo: Kai Jæger Kristoffersen / news Rema and Kiwi will continue to press news has also asked questions to Rema 1000 and Kiwi about what they think about the criticism, and why they are lowering the price of beer. – There is a fierce price war and several goods have been pushed down in price recently. We have promised our customers to be the cheapest, and that applies to all products, says Kristine Aakvaag Arvin, Communications Director at Kiwi. She also says that they will highlight non-alcoholic products, and have a price cut on all non-alcoholic beer. – Since we cut the prices of non-alcoholic beer, sales have increased by around 170 per cent. We want to make it easier for more people to buy alcohol-free, and we hope and believe that there will be even more alcohol-free beer on the table in the thousands of homes this year. Kristine Aakvaag Arvin, Director of Communications at Kiwi, says that they will lower the price of all goods. Photo: Kiwi Line Aarnes, Category and purchasing director at Rema 1000 Norway, also says that the competition is fierce before Christmas, and that they have cut the price of a number of products, including alcohol-free products. She emphasizes that they stay within the laws and regulations when they lower the prices of alcoholic products. – As a grocery chain, we strictly follow the regulations for the marketing of alcoholic products and therefore never market prices for beer. Published 11.12.2024, at 15.17
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Cheap Christmas beer arouses reactions at Av og til and the Directorate of Health – news Nordland
