Economic Development Minister Márton Nagy discussed a proposal on requiring larger supermarkets to offer regular discounts on selected products in a number of categories, at a meeting with retailers and professional associations on Tuesday, his ministry said.
The consultations focused on finalising the details of the draft decree, the economic development ministry said in a statement. The mandatory discounts would be in force from June 1 until September 30, they said, noting that products must be selected for the special offers on a weekly basis. The regulation will classify basic foodstuffs into 20 categories, including poultry, cheese, bread, baked goods, vegetables, fruit, rice and other cereals, the statement noted.
Grocery chains will have to discount a product of their choosing from all 20 categories by at least 10 percent from the lowest price in the previous 30 days. The sides were in agreement that pushing inflation into the single digits was a shared goal which they all considered a responsibility. Nagy said the government devoted special attention to cooperation and consultations with state and market players, adding that the government will take into consideration recommendations made by its partners when finalising the discount regulations.
Nagy and agriculture ministry state secretary for the food industry and trade policy Marton Nobilis held two separate meetings on Tuesday with industry insiders to discuss the measure: one with representatives of supermarket chains CBA, Real, Ecofamily, AFEOSZ-COOP and the chief secretary of commerce association MNKSZ; and the other with representatives of Aldi, Auchan, Lidl, Penny, Spar and Tesco, and the chief secretary of commerce association OKSZ, the ministry said.
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4 Comments
Supermarkets are for profit companies. They will need to make a return (margin) for their stakeholders, to pay rent, their staff, etc. So – if you force them to sell certain goods at a loss, they will make up the shortfall by tactically increasing other prices.
Supermarkets are not such money spinners our Politicians think they are (or perhaps they don’t care – populism: make people think you’re doing something!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymxG4wOP7fk
Centrally controlled discounts, what could go wrong… I’m sure people will thank the government for the 10 % discounts after we first see a rapid 10 % increaee of prices in 20 categories, and in a few other categories too to compensate the business losses and extra administrative costs these measures have on businesses.
State regulation of prices is the step towards hyperinflation .
All “smartly” operated supermarkets offer regular (weekly) discount prices, and when a product is not “discounted”, it sits on an inflated “regular” price. You average the two (“discount” price, and “regular” price) and you get the REAL normal/regular price. Or, when one article is “discounted”, another goes back up to it’s “normal” price. You just have to be a regular supermarket shopper and note the prices all the time. Of course, if you happen to be sitting in Parliament, you don’t care much about the price of items beacause you can afford it.
Let’s not be fooled into thinking that any well-established supermarket is going to go down the gurgler because they HAVE to offer regular “discounted” prices, if they don’t already do so, they’re not up to scratch with the “smart” ones.