Brand manufacturers and food retailers are diametrically opposed in a debate around whether supermarket alliances lead to lower consumer prices. “AgeCore, Epic Partners and Coopernic are not purchasing alliances”, brand organisation AIM boldly claims. Retailers, on the other hand, are unimpressed.
On the counterattack
A reminder: in June, a study entitled International Retail Buying Groups: A Force for the Good? The case of AgeCore/EDEKA, illustrated how purchasing alliancesdo lead to lower prices for consumers. The report concluded that average monthly consumer prices for SKUs in a specific product category, negotiated by retail alliance AgeCore, were on average 12 % lower than those of similar SKUs outside AgeCore-negotiations. The results appeared to be in line with some previous studies on the impact of buying combinations and were enthusiastically shared by EuroCommerce, the European retailers’ advocacy group.
