The price war between supermarkets and manufacturers has always been fierce. Large discounter chains, for example, are repeatedly criticized when producers disclose how little they receive for their products. But there has also been a lot of argument the other way around: well-known beverage brands have been thrown off supermarket shelves at times because the supermarkets did not want to pay the high prices. “Mars” is experiencing a similar situation in its dispute with Edeka.
The German supermarket chain has been negotiating with the Mars Incorporated group for more than six months. The company has drastically increased prices with reference to inflation and energy costs – Edeka speaks of a percentage in the double-digit range. So you can’t continue to offer the products without significantly increasing the prices for customers, and Edeka apparently doesn’t want that at the moment. “In our view, the current significant price demands from the manufacturer Mars are not factually justified,” said a spokesman for the “FAZ”.
Since the Mars group did not give in despite the lengthy price discussions, Edeka decided to take a drastic step: around 450 products are to disappear from the shelves. And that doesn’t just include sweets like the bars “Mars”, “Snickers”, “Twix” and Co. – because Mars is also behind brands like “Ben’s” rice, “M
Many classic products that often end up in customers’ shopping baskets. And Edeka does not speak of a temporary protest action, but calls the decision “permanent”.
Anyone who swears by these brands will soon have to look for other sources of supply – and probably dig deeper into their pockets. For its part, Edeka will console its customers for the loss by replacing the Mars branded products with their own brands. Of course, it is quite possible that the two companies will be able to agree on working together again at some point. By then it may be clear whether price or brand logo are more important to customers.
Sources: “WuV”, “FAZ”
