The countdown begins. As of March 1, consumer products in the hygiene, maintenance and perfumery sections will be subject to the same promotional rules as those in the food sector.
Therefore, within a period of ten days, promotions of non-food products will have a limit of 34%. This framework, an emblematic measure of the so-called Descrozaille law, was initially presented as a means to protect manufacturers in their negotiations with mass distribution.
While waiting for the fateful date, large retail brands take advantage of the last authorized window to launch a salvo of promotions. Starting with Carrefour, which doesn’t mess around. “80%” and “70%”, we can read on the first page of their two weekly catalogs (Carrefour Hyper and Carrefour Market). With a big red stamp reminding that on March 1, 2024, promotions would be prohibited.
5 euros per box of Ariel detergent in capsules instead of 16.80 euros, jackpot of 3.49 euros on a pack of Oral-B toothpaste at 4.99 euros, the pack of 108 Pampers diapers for less than 9 euros with the jackpot compared to almost 44 euros without the promotion…
Carrefour is the most offensive in promotions this week but the competition also plays this last card. -80% on Paic dishwashing liquid at Auchan, 60% discount on a package of X-Tra detergents at E.Leclerc, 50% immediate discount on Fairy dishwasher detergent at Système U, Intermarché refunding 100% of the Voucher price on Vanish makeup remover dye, Le Chat laundry detergent packs or Tahiti shower gels… All brands try to dramatize the March 1 demonstration to attract customers who want to stock up before the promotions end.
Carrefour wants to catch up with E.Leclerc
If Carrefour is the most offensive in this area, it is no coincidence. His general director, Alexandre Bompard, was one of the most active businessmen in the sector in his opposition to the Descrozaille law. At the end of last August, the head of Carrefour even wrote a letter to deputies demanding a moratorium on this law considered inflationary.
For all brands, it is also an opportunity to position themselves as defenders of purchasing power and recover market share from E.Leclerc, which has crushed the competition for more than a year.
Carrefour is one of those that has dropped the most in prices in recent months. The price difference between Carrefour hypermarkets and those of E.Leclerc reached 8.5%, “a historically high level,” says consumer specialist Olivier Dauvers. The Alexandre Bompard group has launched a major price recovery plan, in particular at its Venette hypermarket in Oise, where it intends to reverse E.Leclerc prices on 24 product families.
Source: BFM TV
