"The supermarket trade is complicated, the situation is very ugly"

The spokesman for the Supermarket Federation spoke about the crisis of last month and warned that sales had dropped by 5% in volume. In addition, he noted that the price increase in just two months is between 10 and 15 percent, although he said that it is combined with promotions to avoid a major collapse.

"The supermarket trade is very complicated, the truth is that the situation is very ugly" yesterday badured the spokesman of the Argentine Federation of Supermarkets, Fernando Aguirre. It should be remembered that the executive has badured that in the last month sales have dropped by 5% in volume. In this sense, stated that over the past two months prices have increased between 10 and 15 percent although he clarified that the new price lists are combined with promotions to prevent the collapse of consumption is even higher.

Speaking to Radio La Red, Aguirre explains: "In terms of price, the situation is very changeable and sometimes when we talk about a price increase of a certain society after we let's have to see how the arrangement ends up being.Sometimes there are price lists with increases, but also premiums because the manufacturer knows that the sale is down and that this price list does not have a price tag. is not for a few days.There are also price lists that are directly removed. "

Regarding price increases, the contractor made it clear that the value of food products was greater than inflation which, up to May, had increased by 11%. , 9 percent. "In the last two months, on average, we can talk between 10 and 15%" he noticed.

Asked about the accumulated increase in the first half, Aguirre estimated at 20%. "We also have to see what's happening now, because some prices have gone down, but that does not mean that's the final price, because when the market starts to" pull in "some will want to come back to prices they need. "

In this line, he recalls that the CAME measured a drop in food sales between 4.5 and 5 percent and confirmed a new phenomenon in consumer behavior. "In the last few years, most of the brands that stand out are the second-rate, not the leaders, which marks something: people go to the second or third brand or the supermarket."

Aguirre identified the more affected by the rising dollar: tuna, sardines, palm hearts and some imported beverages. "There, the devaluation hits outright," he said. On the other hand, the CAS spokesman has questioned the "3×2" promotions and has invited companies in Buenos Aires to make clearer cuts. "The 3×2 promotions that force people to do calculations to find out how much it really costs, the product starts to lose strength, and the question is whether the product was not raised the day before, so that, after the promotion, the final price is equal to that of the day before, which is a hoax.All this starts to lose strength, "said Aguirre. "Inside, we have very bad news from people who can not compete with those who work in black and closed", alerted.