Aldi has unleashed a wave of price cuts that will delight customers but worry the industry. Three weeks ago, the German discounter announced reductions on its range. “Swiss meat should not be a luxury,” it said. For 500 grams of Swiss minced beef, you now have to pay 5.99 francs compared to 7.95 previously. Denner responded a week later by aligning itself with the same price. “In recent days, many meat prices have also been reduced,” Migros confirmed to us on Thursday. And this also concerns organic meat.
This downward spiral relieves consumers’ wallets but raises concerns for producers. The Swiss Farmers’ Union (USP) fears “massive competition that would result in pressure on producer prices. This is what worries us and what we want to avoid”. The USP has passed on its concerns to distributors and wants to monitor the development of the situation.
“The price offensive has no impact on producer prices. Aldi’s suppliers receive the same price for their products as before,” the chain says. The same goes for Migros, which says “it has taken these reductions (and will take possible future reductions) at its own expense, i.e. on its margins. They have not been and will not be the responsibility of producers and our suppliers.”
This is not enough to reassure the association Marchés Équitables Suisse, which is surprised that retailers have gone into “fight mode”. It announced on Thursday that it will closely monitor the evolution of producer prices in the coming weeks, especially at Migros, which could “exert pressure thanks to its market power”. The orange giant refutes this. “The reductions are made possible thanks to intense work on our cost structures throughout the value chain”, notes spokesperson Tristan Cerf.
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