The moment that consumers were not waiting for has arrived: after some suppliers announced a price increase starting tomorrow, and after some suppliers rejected the increases due to public pressure - the price increase date is coming.
So far, many chains have announced that they will not approve the price increase, which means that if the suppliers and chains do not reach agreements - it is expected that there will soon be a shortage of a variety of products.
Some chains have started importing products themselves, and some have a private label, but even these options cannot cover so many companies at the same time.
Adam Friedler, CEO of Good Pharm, told Israel Hayom: "We do not approve price increases.
Whoever doesn't want to supply us, won't supply.
We are currently standing our ground.
We will deal and manage it live.
The consumer can come and see that there is no change and nothing."
Shufersal logistics center in Shoham, photo: Yossi Zeliger
To the question of whether a shortage is expected, Friedler answered: "I don't know yet. We are sitting on quite a few stocks, and we have also loaded them full. Even if there are shortages, if and when we don't come to an agreement with suppliers - it is expected to be another three weeks. However, it is not certain that It will happen. I don't think there will be a shortage of products such as toilet paper and diapers, because these are mandatory products, and I believe we will reach an even level. It is possible that the suppliers will reject the increase. We also import Haggis diapers from the Czech Republic."
"We are responsible to the consumer"
On the issue of the interest of the chains not to raise prices, and on the question of whether this is mainly public relations, with the understanding that this is a negotiation at the end of which the chains will raise the prices at a lower rate, Friedler said: "We are the ones who serve the consumer. The consumer does not know who Unilever is. Mrs. Cohen Machedera doesn't know who these diplomats are - we are the face of this thing. She buys the products from us. She won't understand that this is a derivative of their price increase. We are afraid of being hurt, and we don't want to be in that place. After the handshakes, some will raise prices and some won't. If the boycott is strong enough and the products pile up in their warehouses, it will remain at the normal price. There are companies that have not slowed down production, which means they understand that a drop in sales is expected, that they are producing for inventory and that the inventory will increase."
To the question of why the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Economy, who joined the issue and managed to postpone price increases in the past, are not being heard now, Friedler replied that "They are busy with themselves because of the elections. The most fun is messing with yourself. They have things to take care of and that is themselves, in the country, in the elections And in chairs. Not in the cost of living."
Head-to-head war
Another source in the food chain industry told Israel Hayom: "Currently, there is a shortage of goods for some products. As soon as a supplier sends a price list and the chains see that it is serious - they withdraw goods to the central warehouses at the old price, because the increase starts on November 1. The chains did not accept The full order, I don't know for what reason.
"One area, for example, is the field of milk products and milk products. We are withdrawing the shortage from the holiday, and the shortage continues even today. Shufersal did not approve Tara's price increase, and therefore Tara's products have not been available in Shufersal for two weeks. However, this is not the cause of the shortage in the industry. Strauss and Tnuva also have shortcomings."
Regarding the move by the chains not to raise prices, the same source says: "Public relations has a certain part in this. The chains understand that legally they cannot do anything. The supplier has the right not to supply goods. The problem concerns the relationship between the retailers and the suppliers. Both the manufacturer and the chains want to sell the of their goods, but if the network does not get along with the supplier, he will be stuck with the goods.
"In the end, the chains understand more than all the suppliers that a price increase is bad news for sales and that sales may be affected. On the other hand, the suppliers say - we haven't raised for a long time and now we have to. I think that in the medium term there will be no escape from a certain price increase, but not to the extent that the suppliers want. Also The chains have to sell their wares, they have thousands of employees and some of them are public companies. There are currently handshakes that will be reflected in the coming weeks."
Rami Levy and HOT collaborate // Photo: Oren Ben Hakon,
Rami Levy is reassuring
Rami Levy also told Israel Hayom: "Nothing is going up and hasn't gone up for now. We don't expect a shortage. We always take care of our consumers, and we will continue to take care of the best prices so that the consumer can buy at good and cheap prices. All along I am doing everything to continue To protect the consumer. We deal with the suppliers so that we can do well with the consumers, and we will always give the cheapest basket."
The Victory chain responded: "Victory has not approved an increase. At the moment, no shortages are expected, with the exception of the shortages that have existed for the past two weeks - Cornflakes Champions, Nougat pillows and Klik." Beitan Mines stated: "We are dealing with the food manufacturers' demands for price increases, and are working to reduce as much as possible. Along with this, we are working to bring more and more Carrefour products - which are the cheapest in their categories and with high quality, as you can see in the sales of those products in Europe."
A spot shortage is expected
Officials at Shufersal told Israel Hayom: "We are not raising prices. The story is mainly about the products of Unilever and Diplomat, who claim that they will not deliver goods, that is, a customer who arrives on November 2-3, is not sure that he will see all the products. There could be a shortage In a product like this from Pantene or Strauss ice creams. We prepare in an increased manner with stocks at the previous price, as well as with alternative products such as the private label, which supplies almost everything. We prepare for long weeks. The story is mainly about these two companies, because for example Sano has a lot of paper products that they have substitutes".
They also said that "a case in which Shufersal will be the only one in the campaign against the suppliers is also taken into account."
Tuna Starkist, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
As a reminder, some of the products that should become more expensive are:
Diplomat: Starkist, Oreo, Milka and Ariel up to 16%;
Procter & Gamble products in Diplomat distribution: diapers Pampers, Fairy, Ariel, Tide and Lenor up to 16%.
Unilever: Cornflax Thelma, Click, Dove, Pinok and more; Sno: Sno Soft, Sno Sushi paper towels, disinfectant wipes at 14%-12%; Kimberly Clark: Lily toilet paper, Nicole products, Huggies diapers, baby diapers and more - up to 9.6%. Henkel Secret: Launches the new Hawaii, which includes shampoo, conditioner and shower gels at a higher price; Tara: cheeses, yogurts and delicacies from Tara and Muller - 4.9%; Gad Dairies: hard cheeses, Tzfatit, Bulgarian, cream cheeses and yogurts - 9.5%-5%; Soget: some of the rice products and a jar of white sugar - 20%; Mars: Mars, M&A's, Snickers, Twix, Bounty, Maltesers, Orbit and more - 8%-6%. Ferrero: Happy Hippo, Kinder Bueno White, Mini Kinder and more - 6%-5%; Layman Schlissel: Two toffee products from Yogata.
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