Coop Italia is seeking to mitigate the effects of inflation and cost price increases by reducing its margins in the run up to Christmas.
President Marco Pedroni told daily newspaper Corriere della Sera that the retail cooperative is doing its bit to safeguard consumers, employment and Italian-made products.
He warned of price increases that “are putting families in difficulty”, with inflation increasing by 3% year-on-year in October alone.
Price Increases Across The Market
According to Pedroni, the FMCG market has seen strong demand for price hikes from both industry and brands, ranging from 20% to 30% for pasta, 10% to 20% for oil, and 10% to 15% for paper. This is in addition to price increases for raw materials, such as plastic, aluminium, transport and energy.
If the price hikes were passed on to consumers, Coop Italia has calculated that an average family would end up paying €500 more a year for its groceries.
Pedroni believes there is “room for work”, since one-third of products sold by Coop Italia are private label, adding that the cooperative “will act forcefully with Coop-branded products to protect consumers' purchasing power”.
He also promised that Coop Italia is committed to investing €200 million in 2022 towards new openings, restructuring, investing in technology and upgrading its supply chains.
Bringing Industry Together
However, the current situation requires a round table or summit bringing together industry, distribution, and production chains “to take their share of responsibility”.
He believes that all components of the supply chain “should take the responsibility for cushioning the impact of price increases”, while all players have to increase efficiency and may have to sacrifice extra profits.
Coop Italia, which ended 2020 with a turnover of €14.4 billion, has 2,349 shops throughout Italy and eight million consumers every week.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
