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Coop customer Håkon Benjaminsen thinks it’s a good thing that the Norwegian Competition Authority is punishing cheating in the grocery industry.
– It is very important that the Norwegian Competition Authority monitors compliance with competition rules, says Håkon Benjaminsen (36).
E24 meets a student at Coop Extra Pilestredet, a shop he frequents.
On Wednesday morning, the Norwegian Competition Authority published a Total fines: DKK 4.9 billion to the grocery chain for anti-competitive collaboration. Norgesgruppen, Coop and Rema 1000 have all notified that they will appeal the decision.
– Benjaminson said if violations are discovered, they should be dealt with severely.
– Because it’s the store that makes the profit, and the consumer loses money. When you see all those ads that they’re going to drive down prices, you might get a little bit of a false sense of security. But there’s actually a much dirtier interaction going on to get prices to where they want them to be.
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– No impact on pricing
The fact that grocery giants have received billions of dollars in fines in price-hunting cases is hardly going to lead to cheaper food, says Ivar Pettersen, a food researcher at ALO Analysis.
He believes that the Norwegian Competition Authority’s decision mainly means that people are entering a round of demanding court cases.
– This may not mean much for Norgesgruppen and Rema. I am a little bit unsure about Coop, as they have a smaller capital buffer. “We are entering a demanding period of legal cases, because this will certainly be tested in court,” Pettersen told VG.
He noted that the inspection agency spent a lot of time on the case, which he called “demanding.”
– It’s not primarily about revealing the collection of price information, there’s a consensus that that’s OK. But it’s about showing whether it affects pricing and whether it harms consumers. That can be a complex issue and not so easy to decide.
Pettersson noted that surveys show prices are very similar.
– The question is whether it shows strong competition or no competition.
Pettersson also mentioned the Norwegian Competition Authority’s review of profit margins, which the industry still has a long way to go. The bond robbery charge was “acquitted.”
– Pettersson said profit margins have not increased recently.
– Will we get cheaper food afterwards?
– No, I don’t think it has any impact on pricing.
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– Affects us all
The regulator believes the chain’s price-chasing scheme resulted in “large-scale sharing” of price information, harming competition.
– This is a serious violation of the law, which is reflected in the amount of the fees. Competition director Tina Thoreide said this illegal collaboration had weakened competition between grocery chains for many years.
The authorities noted that less competition usually means higher prices for consumers.
– When it comes to groceries, it affects all of us, says Søreide.
Norgesgruppen, the owner of Kiwi and Meny, was charged NOK 2.3 billion. Rema 1000 and Coop must pay $1.3 billion each.
must cease in its current form
The price hunter scheme involves employees from various chains going into competitors’ stores and checking their prices.
The Norwegian Competition Authority explains that they closely monitor and track each other’s prices on an almost continuous basis.
– Magnus Friis Reitan of the Competition Authority said it was based on mutual access, i.e. cooperation between chains, to allow these price hunters.
He noted that it’s more than just walking into a store and checking prices.
– In order for this to work, the chain would have to agree to allow fully systematic and very extensive bounty hunting.
– Can the bounty hunter chain continue now?
– It must stop in the form it is today. Otherwise, the chain is obliged to comply with our order.
——That’s wrong
Coop customer Benjaminson said he thinks “it depends” on whether grocery store chains should be allowed to go around and check each other’s prices.
– If it is for competition, then I think yes, then it should be allowed. But if you raise your price too often so that you don’t have a good offer, then it’s a bit wrong.
– You should allow yourself to regularly update the prices at which other people’s items are sold so that you can compete with them, but that should be the reason.
– What is your opinion on the overall price level?
– I noticed that prices are going up at the moment, but according to the news, it’s about inflation, interest rates and everything else. But it would be cool if it’s also because of stores playing dirty games.
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