Albert Heijn’s parent company warns of price increases

If you’re already sighing as you tap your debit card on the payment terminal every time the groceries have become more expensive again, you’re not going to be happy about this: Albert Heijn’s parent company is once again considering raising prices.

Ahold Delhaize, the parent company of AH and Etos, among others, will pass on to customers any price increases it faces itself and considers justifiable. According to the company, it is also possible to determine which price increases are ‘fair’.

More expensive supply chain

When a producer charges higher prices for goods, this may be because raw materials, energy, packaging, transport or personnel costs have become more expensive. In the Netherlands, 50 percent of revenue comes from private-label products, which supermarkets have produced themselves by commissioning producers. So there is no company in between, meaning Ahold can clearly determine whether producers’ price increases are justified.

Counting on understanding

When Ahold considers those price increases justified, it believes consumers will also understand why the price tags on the shelves suddenly show higher amounts. Frans Muller, CEO of Ahold Delhaize, reminded RTL Nieuws that when Nestlé (the parent company of brands including KitKat, Maggi and Mora) recently wanted to implement price increases that Ahold did not consider justified, those products simply were no longer available on the shelves of Albert Heijn because Ahold blocked the increases. With this, he wants to make clear that they certainly do not simply pass price increases on to customers.

Last January, food prices were no less than 4.3 percent higher than a year earlier. If you want to tighten your belt a little because of this development, we have some great budget tips for cooking with chickpeas, or eggs…

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Source: RTL Nieuws