In autumn and winter, Kiwi has locked the prices of over 200 items until 1 May. The prices are usually the same at Kiwi, Rema and Coop Extra. Therefore, the price lock has also resulted in locked prices in large parts of Norwegian grocery. But before the weekend, Coop Extra raised the prices of a number of price-locked items. news has taken random samples of over 20 products. By Tuesday at the latest, neither Rema nor Kiwi had followed suit. In the table below you can check how much the goods went up in price: Coop cuts prices again Coop’s Communications Manager Harald Kristiansen will not answer directly to news’s questions about what has happened to the prices. Kristiansen writes in an e-mail that the prices are constantly being adjusted. – That is why it is difficult to go in and comment on individual products, as the prices of these could quickly change again, he says to news. Communications manager Harald Kristiansen at Coop. Photo: John Andreassen It is not the first time that Coop Extra has been eager to raise prices. Earlier this year, “everyone” expected that food prices would increase significantly on 1 February, following leaks in the media that the industry was expecting a double-digit rise in certain items. When January became February, both Rema and Extra chose to raise their prices. Kiwi kept the prices unchanged, and on 2 February Rema and Extra reduced the prices again. This time too, Extra chooses to reduce the prices again, according to Kristiansen. – Extra must be competitive on price and have now lowered the prices so that we are at least as cheap as the competitors, and as we have promised our customers, he says. – Keeping an eye on each other Coop raised its prices, despite the fact that grocery experts thought little would happen to prices at Kiwi on 1 May. – There they took a chance. I would think that there is a high probability that the other two, Kiwi and Rema, would not do anything drastic today due to extra attention and the risk of negative reports, says NHH professor Øystein Foros to news. NHH professor Øystein Foros. Photo: NHH From 1 February until Easter, all the chains kept their prices unchanged. Now prices are rising widely in the shops, according to Foros, who believe that prices will creep upwards in the future. – How do the chains manage to raise prices at the same time? – They follow each other, of course. No one wants to have higher prices than the others, because everyone has price as their central promise to the customer. Everyone had expected the prices to rise on 1 February, and when it has opened up, they probably keep a close eye on each other, he says. Odd Gisholt, subject manager for retail, at BI School of Business and Economics, feels that pricing in groceries has become more “messy”. He points out that Kiwi removed the price lock that lasted until May 1, but replaced it on Tuesday with a price lock on “healthy” products. – For you and me as a consumer, it has become a bit unclear. My advice to all consumers is that they must feel really good about it, he says to news. Grocery expert Odd Gisholt has himself tried to get an overview of Kiwi’s price lock today, without success. Kiwi has replaced a price lock on over 200 items with a new price lock campaign. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news
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Coop went five on Kiwi’s price stunt – turned up the prices – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
