Food price deflation in French hypermarkets and supermarkets remained at much the same level (-0.95%) in February as it did in January (-1.13%) according to figures from Barclays.
The bank found that food prices at French hypermarkets were 0.94% down year-on-year, compared to a 1.16% decline the previous month. Prices at French supermarkets fell 1.02% in the month, compared to a 1.15% drop the month before.
Notably, however, the price of national brands continued to fall at a faster rate than that of private label. The price of national brands was 1.34% lower in February compared to the same month the previous year (-1.56% in January), while the price of private labels was 0.32% lower in February (-0.32% in January).
'Food prices in France were broadly stable (-0.06%) in February compared with the month before,' Barclays said in a statement. 'We believe that this sequential stability is mainly explained by the fact that retailers are waiting for the conclusion of the annual tariff negotiations with suppliers.'
Deflation was found to be lower among grocery products (-0.94% in February vs -1.26% in January 17), while it remained above -1.5% in Health & Beauty products and Beverages.
With national brands remaining the most deflationary category in French retail in February, Barclays noted that 'competition remains intense in the French food retail sector and we are wary to consider that the February data marks an inflexion point regarding price evolution'.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
