Aldi, Lidl, Edeka and Rewe: Big discounts will be rarer in the future - that is the reason

A new EU directive could mean the end of bargain offers in the supermarket.

Shopping is therefore likely to become more expensive for customers soon.

Brussels - winter sale, summer sale, mid-season sale, super sale: Somewhere is always reduced, sometimes by up to 70 percent.

But the era of super bargains could soon come to an end.

The EU wants to draw limits on discounts.

Especially in a certain product category, consumers at Aldi, Lidl, Edeka and Co. should feel this.

The European Commission has revised its “Guidelines on Vertical Restraints”.

Together with the so-called Vertical Block Exemption Ordinance, it regulates the antitrust relationship between product manufacturers and dealers.

In the draft of the new vertical guidelines, margin number 174 contains a formulation that causes a great deal of excitement in the retail sector.

Aldi, Lidl, Edeka, Rewe and Co: Manufacturers want to ban discount campaigns

The point of friction in the wording: "Similarly, minimum price guidelines, which forbid retailers to advertise prices below a certain amount set by the provider, can result in price maintenance from the second hand." In other words, manufacturers could then determine which price for them Product in advertising must not be undercut.

The branding industry has been displeased with the aggressive pricing policies of the retail sector for some time - especially in the food sector.

That is why Christian Köhler, General Manager of the Markenverband, expressly welcomes the initiative of the EU Commission.

In relation to the

world

, he describes minimum advertising prices as an element of fair performance competition.

“The possibility of agreeing minimum advertising prices allows branded companies to prevent their products from being sold off as a high frequency generator,” explains Köhler.

Aldi, Lidl, Edeka, Rewe: The retail sector rejects minimum advertising prices

The German Trade Association (HDE) rejects such minimum advertising prices "sharply" and "categorically".

A say by the manufacturers in the structuring of retail prices restricts competition and entrepreneurial freedom, explains Peter Schröder, Head of Legal and Consumer Policy at HDE.

“In the end, we also bear the sales risk,” says Schröder.

Brand association boss Köhler holds against it.

The systematic sell-off of branded products discredits the intrinsic value of the products for consumers and damages the affected manufacturers economically, says Köhler der

Welt

.

"The introduction of minimum advertising prices is unlikely to have any effects on consumers," explains the industry representative.

EU regulation: will the prices of Aldi, Lidl, Edeka and Rewe rise soon?

Schröder from the HDE, in turn, predicts “the end of low consumer prices” if the relevant passage in the EU draft actually makes it into the guideline.

Schröder explains that minimum advertising prices would largely eliminate competition in the retail sector.

Marketing and pricing expert Tim Brzoska from consulting firm Simon Kucher does not assume that retail prices will rise on a large scale as a result.

Nevertheless, he admits to the

world

that articles with low profit margins become more expensive due to minimum advertising prices and could be on offer much less frequently.

Whether the manufacturers actually have a say in discounts depends on whether the wording in margin number 174 is still in the new vertical guidelines after September 17th. Until then, the draft is still open for public consultation. The guideline is to come into force after the old regulations have expired in June 2022.