Last year alone, food prices rose by almost 13 per cent, something many of us have noticed on our bank accounts. The grocery chains have announced a new and sharp price jump from 1 February, of up to 10 per cent. Employees in the grocery stores notice that people have received the notice about increased food prices. At several of the Coop stores, it has been noticed that customers have flocked to fill their shopping carts, before the price jump on Wednesday. – Something happened last week, it was probably due to media reports. The prices will go up on Wednesday and the customers are clearly aware of that. Several people have chosen to come to us to shop, we noticed this particularly well last week, says Andreas Næss, store manager at Coop Obs Lade in Trondheim. Increased turnover of NOK 5 million At Coop Obs Lade, there was NOK 5 million more than normal last week, according to the store manager. The same tendency is also seen in other Coop stores. Næss says customers especially buy goods that can be stored over time. – There are a number of cosmetics, flour, goods with a good shelf life, and I think that makes sense. So I hope people are aware and don’t buy goods they don’t need, but goods they need for cheap, before the prices go up, says the shop manager. Norgesgruppen, which among other things owns Kiwi and Meny, has not noticed any increase in trade in the last week. Neither does the Bunnpris chain. Store manager Andreas Næss has noticed that customers are buying more goods than normal before the announced price jump. Photo: Jørgen Pettersen / news Marking the increased prices Several of the customers at Coop Obs Lade are clear that the prices will go up on Wednesday. – We are thinking about it. Harry tours from Trondheim should become relevant soon. I notice it in the monthly budget, says Martin Nubdal. Randi Gilde plans to buy items she lacks in the cupboard, but not to hoard, even if the prices are increasing. – We can’t do much about it, and there’s no point in collecting so much, she says. Must not increase prices Torberg Falch is professor of social economics at NTNU. He says the grocery industry is based on six-monthly agreements between the grocery, food industry and wholesalers. They enter into new agreements on 1 February and 1 July and can then raise the prices. It is unknown how big the increase will be, although up to 10 per cent has been announced. – These purchase agreements are trade secrets, so we do not know them. The negotiation climate between the actors affects. But it is rising prices internationally that are driving this, says Falch. Falch points to international unrest, reduced food production and increased energy prices as the background for the price increase. The social economist says statistics from Statistics Norway show that the prices of groceries often fall slightly after a price jump. – Does the grocery industry have to raise prices? – No, of course they don’t have to. The industry has very good profits, and large profits for the owners. Then there is streamlining in the industry, such as the fact that we scan the goods ourselves, and we should also be able to benefit from that in the form of lower prices, says Falch. Torberg Falch is professor of social economics at NTNU. Photo: Marthe Svendsen / news Store manager: – Shouldn’t earn more The Norwegian Competition Authority has now called in both grocery chains and suppliers to meetings, after reacting to the industry’s notifications about price jumps. Competition director Tina Søreide is concerned about how the industry has communicated the price increase in advance, which in itself can drive up prices, she tells Dagens Næringsliv. Tina Søreide, director of the Norwegian Competition Authority, has summoned grocery chains and suppliers to meetings. Photo: Bjørn Olav Nordahl / news Store manager Anders Næss at Coop Obs Lade in Trondheim says the price jump will not affect the profits of the stores. – We who run the shop should not earn more from the goods from Wednesday than before. We have the same gross profit on the goods all year, but there are more expensive goods in and there will be more VAT on goods that are traded, so overall there will be an increase, he says.
ttn-69
The Co-op stores experience hoarding before the price jump on 1 February – news Trøndelag
