Brands which have “profiteered” by increasing prices by more than the current rate of food inflation risk being removed from the shelves, French retailer Leclerc has warned.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Leclerc has taken out full-page adverts in the French press warning that a number of products, including La Vache Qui Rit and Brossard, will be delisted from 1 February if prices do not drop before then.
The brands featured in the ads have all increased in price by more than 18% since August, while food inflation in France is currently around 2%.
Leclerc was not immediately available to comment on the adverts, but in his blog, chairman Michel-Edouard Leclerc accused the brand-owners of using the law to push through major price increases.
The loi Galland, which limits the power of retailers to negotiate on price, is meant to protect small producers, but is being “abused” by the major brand owners, Leclerc claimed.
This is not the first time M Leclerc has publicly criticised suppliers. In November, he railed against certain brand-owners, including dairy groups Danone and Lactalis, for pushing through price increases.
