The new measures to combat high prices are expected to lead to double-digit reductions in the prices of certain categories of products on supermarket shelves in March, the general director of the Supermarkets’ Association in Greece, Apostolos Petalas, told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency in an interview released on Sunday.
Based on the new pricelists for personal hygiene products, household cleansers and detergents, he said, the base prices are lower and the ministry appears to have “won the wager” for their reduction. The measures that go into effect on March 1 call for a reduction of base prices equal to at least 30 pct of the sum of discounts and special offers given by wholesale suppliers to retailers.
“I think a real reform of the market has been achieved. The companies, multinationals but also domestic… adopted a policy in the last 20-30 years of high prices and big discounts. The new law forces them to radically redesign their pricing strategy. What remains to be seen is what the strategy they adopt for offers will be,” he said.
Petalas noted that the new pricelists from suppliers revealed “a new architecture based on a lower catalog price” and “significant diversification in the pricing strategy of all companies” that did not exist before. “In this sense, I consider that a true market reform may be achieved,” he said.
He clarified, however, that the next period will be crucial for companies to draw conclusions regarding consumer behaviour and adjust their strategy regarding discounts and offers. For personal hygiene, washing and cleaning products, he said, pricing was “entering a new era” while many planned price increases had been frozen or suspended.
Petalas predicted that the measures will lead to a significant slowing of inflation, including for food, where the inflation rate remained persistently high at 8.3 pct in January.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
