No Pampers in Colruyt stores due to price dispute

(Update) Empty shelves in the baby department at Colruyt stores indicate difficult price negotiations with Procter & Gamble, the manufacturer of Pampers. It is yet another boycott in a series.

‘Things are moving in the right direction’

‘Dear customer, this product is temporarily unavailable. We are negotiating with the supplier to continue offering you the lowest price. Thank you for your understanding.’ Not for the first time, this notice appears on the shelves at Colruyt. The empty shelves in the baby department indicate a price discussion with Procter & Gamble, the manufacturer of Pampers, RetailDetail saw when visiting a store on Tuesday evening. The retailer did not yet respond to a request for clarification.

A Colruyt spokesperson confirmed that the retailer is in talks with Procter & Gamble about Pampers: ‘With the majority of our suppliers, the negotiations are running very constructively and we come to an agreement that satisfies both parties. With some suppliers, talks sometimes run a bit more difficult. This is currently the case with Procter & Gamble, which includes Pampers. Of course, with our full team of experienced buyers, we continue to negotiate constructively and are confident that we will reach agreements, as we do every year. At the moment, things are moving in the right direction: we are therefore not commenting further on the course of these consultations, nor on their content.’

Delhaize is also still in discussions with P&G, but there are no supply problems there. Wood pulp, the main raw material for nappies, has become more expensive since the war in Ukraine.

Substantial price increases

It is not uncommon for a manufacturer to halt deliveries or a retailer to suspend orders to put pressure on purchasing price negotiations. Only a fortnight ago, Colruyt reached an agreement with JDE Peet’s, the owner of coffee brands such as Douwe Egberts and Senseo, after a price dispute that began in December.

Products from JDE Peet’s are still missing from stores at Ahold Delhaize. Edeka, Jumbo and Picnic, members of buying alliance Everest, did just reach an agreement with the coffee roaster but, in their own words, had to allow hefty price increases, which they cannot fully pass on to consumers.

More supermarkets accuse their brand suppliers of raising prices excessively, relative to the actual increased costs. Last year there were also conflicts in Europe between Carrefour and PepsiCo and between Rewe and Mondelez. Jumbo even clashed with a whole range of manufacturers after the retailer joined purchasing combination Everest. It claimed that this gave the retailer a 50 million euros advantage.