Are the future anti-inflation baskets that could see the light of day in the spring in France Greek-inspired? A few weeks ago, we could have answered this question positively. Olivia Grégoire, Secretary of State for SMEs, Crafts, Commerce and Tourism, had her teams work on a basket of twenty basic necessities that large retailers would have to sell at or below cost.
Except that imposing by law the introduction of such a basket in all supermarkets in France was not, according to Bercy, legally feasible, for reasons of competition. The only solution: leave the signs free to create it or not, simply by defining a frame.
Greece has imposed it on large retailers
Volunteering will be the rule, those who don’t play the game risk losing customers. There is also no compromise in the composition of this basket, which will simply include 20 essential products for food but also for daily hygiene. All of this is still a bit vague at the moment because the system is not fully defined yet and meetings with the players involved should allow it to be fine-tuned, the goal is to have it ready in March.
Therefore, we are far from the anti-inflationary basket in force in Greece since the autumn. The Greek conservative government has opted for the obligation, when a billing exceeds 90 million euros. The list of product categories to be included in this basket has also been set by the government. It includes 51 product categories. In each one, at least one reference sold by the brand must be part of the basket.
Mandatory highlighting on shelves and online for easy comparisons
For pasta, for example, it is spaghetti. And for fats, the consumer must be offered at least one bottle of margarine, one bottle of sunflower oil and one of virgin olive oil. The product is not necessarily sold at cost price but the margin level must be very low and the administration can carry out controls. In addition, the products in question must be highlighted on the shelves and on the Internet so that consumers can compare prices from one brand to another.
Has the Greek anti-inflation basket paid off, two months after its introduction? According to the latest official statistics, between November 1, 2022 and early January 2023, 98% of the references selected by brands saw their prices drop or stabilize. But sales of national brand products have fallen at the same time, without it being possible to say if this is a direct effect of the introduction of this anti-inflationary basket. Because also in France, inflation has caused a drop in the volume of sales of national brand products.
Source: BFM TV
