By Sebastian Geisler
In the dispute between the beverage manufacturer Coca-Cola and the food retailer Edeka over purchase prices, the Hamburg Regional Court has prohibited a delivery stop by Coca-Cola.
The manufacturer stopped supplying Germany’s largest grocer last week after Edeka rejected demands for higher prices.
︎ The Hamburg district court announced on Friday: Edeka had made it credible that a price increase demanded by Coca-Cola was probably inappropriate.
The respondent, i.e. Coca-Cola, abused a dominant position by setting the price and enforcing it with the help of a delivery stop. This is anti-trust behavior.
Means: Coca-Cola uses its market power to push through price increases, says the court.
︎ Coca-Cola must therefore refrain from no longer supplying Edeka under the last agreed conditions until a follow-up agreement has been concluded. The court limited the temporary injunction issued on Thursday (Az. 415 HKO 72/22) to September 30th. According to Edeka, the previously valid contract with Coca-Cola was signed in January 2022. The “Handelsblatt” had previously reported on the decision.
Edeka in “tough negotiations” with manufacturers
“This decision is a positive signal for consumers in Germany,” said Edeka on Friday. It sets limits to the “price gouging” of some brand-name companies that want to maximize their profits with unjustified demands for price increases. “Especially in times of rising inflation, it is an important concern of Edeka to relieve private households,” it said. Therefore, Edeka has been in “tough negotiations” with the branded goods industry for months.
Edeka demanded that unavoidable price increases should not only be imposed on consumers, but rather distributed along the entire value chain. The Edeka association invests to a considerable extent in order to keep sales prices as stable as possible, “also at the expense of its own margin”.
On request, Coca-Cola Germany stated that the court made the decision without a hearing, “so that our arguments could not be incorporated”. Accordingly, an objection was filed.
The company stressed that the early-announced price increase is well below current food inflation and also below the pricing trends of many private label brands.
Both companies signaled their willingness to talk on Friday: “Of course, we continue to strive to reach an agreement in the interests of our customers,” said Edeka. “We hope that the talks will progress quickly and constructively and that Edeka will be willing to negotiate,” said Coca-Cola.