Nettavisen recently wrote about Gilde warning the politicians that they are about to be squeezed off the shop shelves by mincemeat brands from First Price, Folkets, Coop and Xtra and Prima.
– Forced to make minced meat for Kiwi
But at the same time that Gilde owner Nortura believes that their livelihood is threatened, they have for many years produced minced meat for the Kiwi, Meny, Spar and Joker chains. The subsidiary Norfersk makes the chain-owned brands First Price and Folkets mincemeat.
Anders Nordstad is a grocery blogger and former secretary general of the Norwegian Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association. He believes it does not make sense that Nortura on the one hand complains about being pushed off the shelves, while at the same time they are Norway’s largest producer of the stores’ own brands of mincemeat.
– I think 90 per cent of all suppliers end up being excluded by the chains if they do not supply an EMV variant (own brands such as First Price) to the stores, he says.
also read
Gilde: – Our existence is threatened
– Would never enter into the agreement today
He believes that the agreement with Norgesgruppen obviously ensured Nortura’s subsidiary Norfersk a good volume of meat and patty dough.
Nordstad points out that Nortura was concerned that Rema 1000 had secured Nordfjord Kjøtt as a meat supplier, while Coop had entered into an agreement with Fatland. Thus there was “only” the Norgesgruppen left for Nortura.
– The agreement was probably sold as favorable for Nortura’s bottom line. The chains use the power they have to make the suppliers become more or less pure on self-controlled brands, such as Nortura is becoming. And as Nordfjord Kjøtt and Fatland are for Rema and Coop respectively, he says.
It is the consumers who pay the price, believes the grocery blogger.
– I also think it is interesting to see that prices have increased most in the product categories that are most characterized by own brands and vertical integration, namely bread, meat and fruit & vegetables.
Nordstad believes the Gilde owner should think twice.
– What Nortura did not think about is that it is Norgesgruppen that owns the brand. Thus, they are the ones who profit the most from it, he says.
– I am not sure whether Nortura would enter into the same agreement today. 11 years ago this seemed like a way to increase volume and reduce production costs. Then the end of visas has become that Gilde’s existence on the mincemeat shelf is lost when 80 per cent of all meat and meatball dough that is sold is controlled by the stores.
– Gilde has been deceived. The results in Nortura were poor at the time, so it seemed like a good solution to both increase volume and profit, he says.
Do you think that Nortura wants to get out of the agreement with Norgesgruppen?
– I don’t know if they want to get out completely, but it is clear that all producers who produce something or other have to get some kind of added value for what they produce, says Nordstad.
also read
Gilde and Prior profited from high food prices
Must produce First Price and People’s minced meat
Kjell S. Rakkenes, communications director at Nortura, replies that they produce First Price and Folkets because the customers want it.
– For us, it has been important to be present in the minced meat market, which is constantly being taken over by our own brands, he says.
– What do you think about the fact that you have been tricked into this agreement?
– I do not understand where Nordstad finds the basis for that claim. Nortura has in no way been tricked by Norgesgruppen into producing EMV (own brands). We have chosen to do it ourselves to ensure that we are in the market with a competitive product, says Rakkenes, and emphasizes that they have a very good supplier relationship with the Norges group.
– We are both players who adapt to the competition in the market. The fact that we produce EMV minced meat is simply because it has become a premise in the competition for deliveries in the grocery industry, he says.
Thus, the warning and criticism stand together:
– Nortura is critical of how the competition has generally developed in our categories. The competition has forced an extreme proportion of the store’s own brands in our categories, which we are strongly critical of,
– We have also criticized those who claim that the store’s own brands mean cheaper products for people. There is neither a theoretical nor an empirical basis for claiming this when the market share reaches a certain level, says Rakkenes in Nortura.
Norgesgruppen: – Will not counterattack
Stein Rømmerud, executive vice president for communications and public relations in Norgesgruppen, says he will not counterattack. He states that there has been dialogue between Nortura and Norgesgruppen after Nettavisen highlighted the minced meat conflict.
– Has Nortura been tricked into something that they did not see the consequences of?
– No, of course not. Both parties entered into this collaboration with good intentions and, of course, with a joint plan to succeed.
He says it is unclear what Nordstad wants to achieve by saying that Nortura has been deceived by Norgesgruppen.
– Norstad is very aggressive in tone. We experience the collaboration with Nortura as orderly and professional. This is also the feedback we get from Nortura. So that comment must almost be at his expense, says Rømmerud.
2023-10-18 17:50:06
#meat #dough #conflict #Gilde #deceived
