The price dispute between Edeka and Coca-Cola escalates. After Coca-Cola threatened to stop delivering to all Edeka stores in Germany, Edeka went to court. The district court in Hamburg has now passed a verdict. FOCUS online says why customers can breathe a sigh of relief in the short term.
Coca-Cola and supermarket giant Edeka have been arguing about prices and conditions for weeks. The beverage company wants to raise prices and also adjust supply contracts. Edeka rejects both of Coca-Cola’s proposals.
To exert further pressure, Coca-Cola announced that it would stop deliveries in stages by September 1st. In many Edeka branches, the first gaps in the shelves became noticeable at the beginning of the week. Edeka reacted, moved to the Hamburg district court.
The judges decided: Coca-Cola must continue to supply Edeka under the conditions that were agreed between the two companies in January 2022 and apply until the end of September. An Edeka spokesman told the “Handelsblatt” (paid content) that the beverage manufacturer’s actions were a “unilateral breach of contract”. “Dominant companies like Coca-Cola are forbidden by antitrust laws,” he added.
Coca-Cola did not want to comment because they are in “ongoing negotiations”.
Coca-Cola could appeal the verdict. However, it seems unlikely that the delivery stop will be maintained.
Customers can benefit from the price escalation. Edeka can now sell the drinks at the old price until the end of September. This could lead to far-reaching special offers at Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord, Lidl, Rewe, Hit and Kaufland.
The Coca-Cola group had raised the prices for its drinks a good ten months ago. Even then, Edeka was apparently irritated and agreed to the adjustments at the end of January.
Rewe and Edeka then fought a fierce price war for several weeks.
The focus was on returnable crates and non-returnable PET bottles. As Rewe and Edeka retailers explain to FOCUS online, Coca-Cola had raised the basic price for the crate with 12 bottles of one liter from around 8.99 euros to over 10 euros at the beginning of the year. With the latest price adjustment, Coca-Cola is apparently asking for more than 12 euros.
The reusable crate has now appeared at beverage manufacturers and supermarkets at prices of 12.99 and 13.89 euros.
Coca-Cola is not an isolated case.
Also with Mondelēz there are apparently disputes in the German retail trade, as FOCUS online has already reported.
The focus is on spreadable cheese from Philadelphia and chocolate from Milka. The entire product range of both brands is only available at a few Edeka branches. In many cases, the stamps are even missing completely. Edeka merchants inform their customers with signs. Shown on it, among other things, Philadelphia and Milka.
Upon request, Philadelphia’s customer service only reported that there could be “occasionally” bottlenecks. The press offices do not comment. A delivery stop currently also applies to Maggi and Knorr products. Here, too, the purchase prices are in the foreground.
Rewe merchants report to FOCUS online that individual Philadelphia products are currently missing from the refrigerated counter. The products are “mostly” not even available to order. Similar to Edeka, there are also problems with Knorr and Maggi deliveries. However, these are due to production bottlenecks.
At Netto Marken-Discount, the chocolate manufacturer Mars apparently threatened to stop delivery at short notice. It was to blame that the Edeka subsidiary rejected any price increases and also made this public. Affected were M
The big discounter market leaders Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord and Lidl are also currently in talks with major manufacturers. Here, however, products have already flown off the shelves because there was a dispute over prices and conditions.
As Aldi insiders report, the branches are currently missing products from “Fruchtzwerge” and “Activia”. Both yoghurt brands belong to the Danone group and have not been available for several weeks.
At Lidl, products from “Müllermilch”, “Henkel” and “Beiersdorf” are again missing on the shelves. According to information from FOCUS online, it is about the deodorant from Nivea, dishwashing liquid from Pril and other drugstore items from Bref and Somat.
The “Lebensmittel Zeitung” also confirms the relevant information. Apparently, the discounters are thinning out their brand business. The primary concern is that customers increasingly turn to the cheaper Lidl and Aldi brands. Sales of branded products are declining again.
If you don’t want to do without your favorite products, you should rely on specialist shops and other supermarkets.
Beverage stores, for example, have juices and soft drinks from different manufacturers on offer on the shelves. In addition, they usually deliver the goods directly to your home for a small fee.
If there is no dog or cat food, pet supply stores can help. A visit to the drugstore retailer is worthwhile for hygiene articles, kitchen rolls and toilet paper.
Discounters can be a cheap alternative for food from brand manufacturers. Aldi, Lidl and Penny in particular offer special brand discounts at the weekend, which can only be found in the range for a short time.
Consumers have little leeway in the current situation. FOCUS online advises: Look more in the weekly brochures of the supermarkets for offers.
Prospectuses are mailed out weekly, often between Thursday and Saturday. In some regions, the magazines can be found in your local city or weekly newspaper. Be sure to remove any “No Ads Please” stickers from the mailbox.
Supermarket prices are skyrocketing, but furniture, clothing, shoes and other consumer goods are also becoming more expensive. As a retail expert, I know the tricks of the trade and tell you how you can save money for you and your family every month when shopping. Would you like to talk to me about your savings tips and savings tricks? Did you notice anything while shopping? Then send an e-mail to Konstantinos.mitsis@burda-forward.de with your name and telephone number
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