The international retail chain Carrefour, which entered Israel this week with the opening of 50 branches in one day, is generating great interest.
But when all the cheers of the opening ceremonies have been silenced, is there good news here for the Israeli consumer? Yesterday we published here a price survey that examined Carrefour's prices compared to its older competitors (Rami Levy, Shufersal, Yochananoff, Victory and more) when it comes to the general brands, which we are used to consuming.
The examination revealed that there is indeed consumer news, but it is not so great: in the large supermarkets (discounts) that are usually located in industrial zones outside the city centers, the chain presented a relatively cheap basket, but still 2.6% more expensive than that of the Rami Levy chain.
On the other hand, when it comes to supermarkets close to home, the urban Market chain and the neighborhood City chain, the new chain presented a cheaper price – and even much cheaper than its competitors.
Checking Carrefour general brands against the underground chains - https://finance.walla.co.il/item/3577705
The Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy at the opening of the Carrefour branch. Those who switch to private labels may save tens of percent (Photo: Kobi Gideon / GPO)
Carrefour, however, purports to bring consumer news from two main aspects. The first is a shopping experience "like in Europe", where its main rival is the Israeli retail giant Shufersal, which has made it its top priority to create a quality shopping experience.
The second aspect, and perhaps much more important, is in the field of private label – where Carrefour should be a trump card.
It should be said immediately, not all products are alternative, since when it comes to fresh products (milk, meat, eggs, vegetables and fruits) there are no private labels that create competition, even in the unregulated products in the field.
The second issue is kashrut: all Carrefour private label products imported to Israel are kosher, and as a result, many of us will continue to meet mainly on shelves abroad. The same applies to local standards. It is true that what is good for the Europeans should also be good enough for the Israelis, yet there are products that still need approval from the Standards Institute.
Nevertheless, there are segments where this is a significant and large discount.
Private label breakfast cereals at a competitive price: NIS 9 compared to NIS 15.90 and more, presented by other leading brands (Photo: Walla!
Significant private label savings
For dish soap from the best-selling brands, you will pay 15.90 NIS in all 3 chains we examined (Carrefour, Rami Levy and Shufersal Deal - all in the discount format of course, and not in the neighborhood branches) for an alternativedish soapfrom the private label Carrefour, you will pay 4.90 NIS - about 70% less.
For agranulated mouthof a leading brand (Tester's Choice) you will pay about NIS 35.90 in the large chains and for an alternative Carrefour brand you will pay NIS 15.90 - about 60% less.
ForSiniminis cerealsyou will pay about NIS 14.80 at the 3 large chains, but for an alternative Carrefour product, you will pay NIS 5.90 - about 60% less.
Also, forpasta – for a leading brand you will pay about 6 NIS and for an alternative Carrefour product you will pay 2.25 NIS – over 60%.
Forfabric softeneryou will pay about 50% less and for toilet paper you will pay 30% less and so on for about 1,000 alternative products that arrived in Israel with the entry of the chain, out of about 40,000 such products that it owns and will slowly reach us as well according to regulatory progress, approvals, local standards, kashrut and examination of local taste.
Carrefour's private label products, fabric softener at almost half the price (Photo: Walla!, Walla! Silver)
So yes, the basket that Carrefour offers for alternative products and is displayed at the entrance to the branch, shows gaps of about 58%, and even if in practice it is a little less, but come on, even 30-40% less is worth... The question is how loyal (or fixated) you are that won't replace the brands they know.
You may not replace personal taste with products like your favorite coffee, high-quality olive oil or nostalgic chocolate, but dish soap and fabric softener will presumably be replaced more easily. Moreover, at least according to Carrefour's declaration, the alternative products sold under the private label are no less good (sometimes the same manufacturer) than those branded.
The shopping cart placed by Carrefour at the entrance to the branch reflects a gap of about 58% between the house brand and well-known brands (Photo: Walla!
From our examination of a random basket of products that we collected for the cart on May 9, 5, the day Carrefour Israel opened dozens of its branches throughout the country, there is a significant gap between the products we know and the alternative stocks of the Carrefour house brand.
In the cart that contained 23 products from all categories, the gap was about 14%, while some of the alternative products we chose were not cheaper and sometimes slightly more expensive, that is, we chose products that reflect an average consumer purchase and examined the level of feasibility for the consumer to try to switch to the private label, with price being the only parameter.
The average product basket we tested, with 14 products from all categories, reflects the gaps (Photo: Walla!
- money
- Consumerism
- Price comparison
Tags
- Carrefour
- Rami Levy
- Shopping
- super
- supermarket
- Shufersal
- Shufersal Deal
