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Santa Clauses: Hidden price increases - criticism from consumer advice center

2020-11-27T19:46:30.689Z


Milka put the chocolate Santa Claus on a diet, the retail sector has increased prices in some places: Consumers will have to expect hidden price increases in many places this year, warns the Hamburg consumer center.


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Chocolate Santa Clauses in the supermarket

Photo: Fleig / imago images / Eibner

The consumer center Hamburg found numerous hidden price increases for chocolate Santa Clauses in a random sample in the branches of eight retail companies.

In addition, the prices for the same products vary greatly from supermarket to supermarket.

The offer at Budni, Edeka, Famila, Kaufland, Netto, Penny, Real, Rewe and Rossmann was examined. 

In the case of the Milka Alpine Milk Santa Clauses from the Mondelez Group, for example, these are only 45 or 90 grams in weight this year instead of 50 or 100 grams as in the previous year.

But consumer advocates criticize that they would be sold in stores for the same or even higher price.

The lower weight was hardly noticeable in view of the presentation of the products.

At Rewe, the Milka Santa Claus is lighter - and more expensive

In addition, some dealers have increased the prices for the Milka Santa Claus, summarized the Hamburg consumer advice center.

The price increase was the strongest compared to the previous year with 36 percent at Rewe.

There, for example, the 45-gram Santa Claus costs 1.19 euros.

Last year the dealer asked for 99 cents for 50 grams.

And the price jumps between the retailers are also enormous: Identical products from the same brand sometimes have very different prices, according to consumer advocates.

Penny, for example, charges 2.54 euros for the 175 gram Milka Santa Claus.

At Real, on the other hand, consumers paid 3.92 euros, 54 percent more.

"If you want to buy sweets for the advent calendar, Santa Claus boots and Christmas in the next few days, you should definitely compare the prices," says Armin Valet from the Hamburg consumer center.

Reactions from Milka and Rewe

The Milka Group Mondelez pointed out the role of supermarkets when asked:

"The setting of the end consumer prices is basically the responsibility of the food retailer or the online retailer - as a manufacturer we have no influence on this." The Santa Claus range has long consisted of many different variations in terms of taste, shape and size.

»We always clearly indicate the exact content and weight of our products on the packaging.

Consumers can thus obtain comprehensive information before they buy and decide whether the product meets their expectations, ”Mondelez said.

Upon request, Rewe confirmed the price increases quoted by the consumer advice center and stated the justification: “These are due to increased costs on the part of the manufacturer and for us as a retailer, which must therefore also be taken into account in the calculation.

The basic price information on the price label guarantees price transparency and comparability for customers.

In addition, our sales prices are still below the manufacturer's prices.

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Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2020-11-27

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