Uncovering Harsh Business Practices of Supermarket Chains: Agrarian Chamber’s Success in Monitoring Private Brands

NETWORK MONITORING First success? The Agrarian Chamber has long drawn attention to the differences that retail chains make between their private brands and “ordinary” goods. In one supermarket, however, they discounted this common item. Precisely in the one from which the photos published by the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic come from. At the same time, the private label logo had to be removed by the Chamber because Kaufland was angry. According to the chamber, Kaufland complied with the customer.

For some time now, the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic has been dealing with private supermarket brands, i.e. products that the chains have delivered in their own packaging and sell them at a lower price than “branded” products.

“The same milk (0.1g fat difference) from the same manufacturer, in two different packages, but each at a significantly different price. While the supermarket has a markup of only a few crowns on its private label, it adds over 20 CZK on the original product from the dairy,” AK CR described this difference in milk and added: “This is how business is done. Retail chains artificially invent their marketing brands and push original branded products to the margins of customer interest. Maybe it would be enough to reduce your margins on traditional products and food could suddenly become cheaper.”

Originally, the picture was accompanied by a photograph, from which it was immediately possible to recognize that it was a product of the K-Jarmark brand, i.e. Kaufland’s private label. However, Kaufland’s legal representatives are said to have turned to the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic precisely because of the display of the brand’s logo.

K-Jarmark milk:
Source Food on the pillory

Since then, the organization has begun to blur the private label logo. However, she kept the mention of the chain, for example when she drew attention to very similar yogurts (one with 3.7% fat, the other with 3.5%), but different prices (one for CZK 21.90, the other for CZK 29.90). This price difference was documented in Lidl.

In a similar way, the chain, this time no longer named, kept the cream, which it offered from the Kunín dairy for 29.90 CZK, but for its private brand, it went for 16.90 CZK.

The Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic itself states that it “stung the wasp’s nest” by drawing attention to private brands. “We were even approached by lawyers from one chain saying that we allowed ourselves to display the logo of a private label. In the end, we had to edit the image,” they admitted.

However, they draw attention to the practices further, for example with milk. “The dairy will produce exactly the same milk, but for the retail chain it will be packaged in the chain’s private label packaging. This product is usually significantly cheaper because supermarkets push for the lowest possible purchase price. Why do manufacturers approach this, you ask? Because retail chains often condition all purchases from the manufacturer in this way. If they do not deliver the ‘private’, the supermarket threatens to stop buying the manufacturer’s branded product. As you can see, the chains harshly and indiscriminately dictate the conditions on the market,” says the chamber, adding sarcastically that it is probably “out of love for the Czech Republic”.

But the pressure pays off according to the chamber. “We recently published a photo of an unnamed large chain lining their pockets on a branded product, while a private product from the same manufacturer with the same content and quality is significantly cheaper. The supermarket has recently reduced the price of branded milk. Apparently at our instigation. Thanks to everyone for sharing the post that pointed out this harsh business practice. Perhaps because of this, we forced the chain to act in favor of the consumer. We are very happy about it,” the organization confided.

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