Colruyt and Albert Heijn limit price increases

The price level at Colruyt and Albert Heijn remains significantly below the market average, despite a general increase in costs for raw materials and energy. Other supermarket chains have been increasing prices, according to Retail Detail.

It was expected that at the beginning of this year prices of food would rise significantly in supermarkets: almost all manufacturers were forced to push up their prices to their customers because of the rising cost of energy, transport, wages and raw materials. However, not all supermarkets are passing on these price increases to consumers to the same extent, according to a new price survey by Daltix reported by De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad.

Market leader Colruyt and challenger Albert Heijn seem to be engaged in a price war: in the past three months, both chains remained significantly cheaper than their closest competitors. The difference has become even bigger: in one year, the prices for private labels and branded products together rose by 4% at Delhaize and Carrefour, at Colruyt and Albert Heijn this was only 2%.

Albert Heijn is attacking Colruyt’s lowest price position with a limited number of low-priced items, according to the analysis. For other products, the chain is more expensive. Overall, Colruyt remains 8- 9% cheaper. It is worth noting that the price comparison does not take into account the personalised price discounts that for example Delhaize offers to customers with a SuperPlus account.