The case is updated with more prices. When Kiwi at Jernbanetorget in central Oslo opened at 06 this morning, three price hunters were ready to check the prices. news did the same. While Kiwi has largely chosen to hold back on prices, Rema 1000 and Coop Extra have increased prices considerably on certain items. This is shown by news’s own survey. news has compared the prices in the shops from 17 January with today 1 February. Here are some of the changes: Price jump on toilet paper: The cheapest toilet paper at Extra has become 40 per cent more expensive and costs NOK 24.90, while at Rema the price has increased by 15 per cent to NOK 19.50. At Kiwi, the price is almost unchanged at NOK 16.90. More expensive detergents: The price of Jif spray has increased by 52 per cent to NOK 49.90 at Extra. Rema has had a price increase of 9 per cent to NOK 35.90. The price is unchanged at 32.90 at Kiwi. Coffee: The price for coffee varies between the competitors for half a kilo of Evergood or Friele: At Extra the increase is 7 per cent to 94.90, at Rema the coffee costs 94.90 as before, while Kiwi has dropped the price by 29 per cent to 59.80. Chocolate: The price for a bag of M is unchanged at Rema and Kiwi at 29.90, but has risen by 33 per cent to 39.90 at Extra. Dairy: Q-light cream has increased by 20 per cent to NOK 19.50 at Extra, and 14 per cent to NOK 18.40 at Rema, while at Kiwi the price is unchanged. In the past year, food prices have risen by 11.5 per cent. A further sharp price rise was announced today. The biggest price jumps in grocery stores take place in February and July. In the food industry, these months are called price windows. Price increases are then taken out after negotiations with suppliers, the agricultural settlement and the wage settlement. It is the industry itself that has developed this practice. news has asked the grocery chains to comment on the matter. Rema 1000 and Coop have not yet responded to our inquiries. – Never said we were going to raise the prices Communications manager Kristine Aakvaag Arvin in Kiwi tells news that they never said they were going to raise the prices on 1 February. – Today we have received price increases from our suppliers. In recent weeks, we have seen many media reports that prices would increase in stores today, but we at KIWI have never said that we would raise our prices on 1 February, she says. Communications manager Kristine Aakvaag Arvin at Kiwi says they never said they would raise the prices on 1 February. Photo: Kiwi – For reasons of competition, we cannot say anything about when prices will go down or up. But we can promise all our customers that no matter what happens, KIWI will always be the cheapest. – Completely exceptional Sources in the retail chains told news in December that the price increases could be up to 10 per cent from 1 February, but clarified then that the result was not yet clear. – Should we get an overall price increase for food and non-alcoholic beverages of 10 per cent from January to February, it would be a completely exceptional growth, says section manager Espen Kristiansen at Statistics Norway. Espen Kristiansen at Statistics Norway believes that a price change of up to 10 per cent would be exceptional growth. Photo: William Jobling / news Such a strong price increase will be higher than what the agency has ever seen for both February and July. The figures are comparable back to the 60s. – The change of 7.6 per cent in July last year was the strongest growth from one month to the next we have seen, he says. Warns against talking about price increases in the press Competition director Tina Søreide tells news that the authority has been in meetings with, among others, NHO food and drink, and will have meetings with the large grocery chains in the future. – The meetings are primarily to make the players understand the importance of not communicating future price increases via the media. And to create an understanding of why this can be problematic. It can harm competition in the market, she says. Competition director Tina Søreide warns grocery players not to talk about price increases in the press. Photo: Bjørn Olav Nordahl / news A survey carried out by news shows that the tendency for sharp price increases in February and July has become stronger in the last decade, compared to previous years. In the last ten years, the price jumps in July and February have been almost three times as high as in the early 2000s. The Norwegian Competition Authority has said that the price pattern will now be examined. The inspectorate wants to find out if there is anything about the current system that allows for coordination and adaptation.
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Kiwi keeps price jump again – that’s how much the competitors have raised the prices – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
