Albert Heijn annually negotiates prices with suppliers, as the chain wants to be as cheap as possible in the competition with other supermarkets. “Unfortunately, the conversation with Nestlé is currently stalled, because Nestlé wants to implement price increases of above 20 percent that are insufficiently explained by cost increases. We find this unacceptable for our customers,” the company said in a written statement.
Trade medium Distrifood previously wrote about the conflict between Albert Heijn and Nestlé. The supermarket chain is also said to be in conflict with supplier Ad van Geloven, known for Mora’s frozen snacks. According to Albert Heijn, the negotiations with this supplier from Brabant are now in the ‘final phase’ and deliveries will be resumed in the short term.
Higher costs
Companies worldwide are struggling with the sharply increased prices for raw materials. This is the result of the rapid economic recovery after the corona crisis and the bottlenecks in the global logistics chain. Consumer product manufacturers prefer to pass on the higher costs to maintain their profit margins. Unilever, among others, known for brands such as Ax, Dove, Ola and Conimex, indicated that it had increased prices last autumn.
But supermarkets complain that suppliers are using inflation as an excuse to raise prices beyond what is strictly necessary. In a conversation with the AD, Jumbo’s financial chief, Ton van Veen, accused suppliers of increasing the margins. He didn’t name names.