System U announced the launch starting this Wednesday, February 1, of a basket of “150 products at cost price” for an “indefinite period.” This commercial operation comes at a time when the government is discussing an “anti-inflation basket” with the sector. The sign “does not come out of the conversations with the government, we continue registering, instead we think that there is an emergency of purchasing power and that March 1”, the date on which the government hopes to culminate its anti-inflation campaign. basket, “it’s still a long way off,” explained its president, Dominique Schelcher.
In this basket, available at Hyper U and Super U stores, there is flour, pasta, oil, coffee, milk and yogurt, all under their own brand. These products will be sold with no more margin than that provided by law. Since the beginning of the year, “we feel that things are getting tighter in terms of purchasing power, with a boost in restricted spending, energy or insurance prices, fuel,” says Dominique Schelcher, head of the fourth distributor in France behind E.Leclerc, Carrefour and Intermarché.
This is not the first commercial operation carried out by a distributor. Since inflation has returned to occupy the first place of the concerns of the French, the sector has multiplied operations, blocked prices, anti-inflationary shield, whose objective is to attract or retain customers, in the face of food inflation of 13.2% in one year in January according to INSEE. The Government, for its part, has announced that it is working on an “anti-inflation basket” of some fifty references, which could serve as a basis for comparison between brands.
waiting for the government
The delegated minister of Commerce, Olivia Grégoire, indicated on Monday in Europe 1 that it offers distributors “collective action, together, from March” and for three months. Free signs to accept or not. The U System initiative “goes in the direction of the government project of a basket of daily basic products sold with the best quality-price ratio”, she reacted in a message to AFP Olivia Grégoire. She intends to “continue discussions with the other brands so that this system can measure up very quickly.”
The System U leader believes that this offer is intended both to “help the purchasing power of the French”, but also acknowledges that it is a way of supporting consumption while the sector fears that inflation will push the French unless it buys. “The drop in volumes sold is suffered by everyone, the producer from whom, for example, we will ask for less wheat, the processor who will have fewer orders, and we who will make fewer sales. The risk in the first half of 2023, c is to enter an alert zone at this level, “he said.
Source: BFM TV
