To Delphi The editor was contacted by a reader who wanted to share her experience from a recent visit to Tallinn and the pleasantly surprised prices in the shops of the Estonian capital.
The woman says that after buying a portion of “Magnum” ice cream in this Baltic state, she paid 1.09 euros for it at the “Maxima” store. After returning to Lithuania, she decided to enjoy the same ice cream at home and was surprised to see that its portion here costs 2.79-2.99 euros.
“Economists say that the Lithuanian market is small, which is why prices here are higher than, say, in Germany. But Estonia has only 1.3 million. population, and the prices of at least one product, compared to Lithuania, are surprising”, says the woman.
The price difference is not surprising
Arūnas Vizickas, head of the price comparison portal Pricer.lt, is not too surprised by the difference in the price of Magnum ice cream in Estonia and Lithuania. According to him, the pricing of the international company Unilever, which manages this brand, really raises questions in our country.
For example, in September, Pricer.lt compared the prices of the same Magnum ice cream in Lithuania, Great Britain, Germany and Sweden.
It turned out that a portion of 72 g costs 2.79-3.29 euros in our country, while in British stores you would have to pay 1.26 euros for the corresponding product, in Germany – 0.83 euros, and in Sweden – 1.13 euros.
Delphi the portal turned to the Unilever Lietuva distribucija company, asking them to comment on why such price differences occur, but the company’s representatives did not answer the questions. After receiving the comment, we will supplement the publication.
“That price difference is really huge. Unilever’s entire product portfolio is overpriced and those prices are not determined by the actions of the traders. Perhaps they sell little in Lithuania and thus try to maximize profit. Another version is that it is an attempt to adapt to our distorted marketing, when the prices are raised at first, and then 50% are made. discounts”, thinks A. Vizickas.
He points to another Unilever product – Royal ice cream. During the period of rampant inflation, their price almost doubled in two years, and the volume of the package decreased from one liter to 850 milligrams.
“Representatives of manufacturers are simply trying to increase profits and do it in every possible way. It would seem that prices should be similar in neighboring countries, but there is probably a more normal market and greater competition in Estonia,” says the head of Pricer.lt.
Every country is unique
At that time, Marius Tilmantas, the head of the purchasing department of the Maxima shopping network Delphi states that the final price of a product depends on a wide variety of factors. In particular, pricing is determined individually, taking into account each country’s market, its size and competition in the market.
You should also pay attention to the fact that each retail chain has different suppliers, and contracts with them are also different. In addition, pricing includes other important factors: logistics, employee wages, energy resources, store rent and other various costs.
“These reasons also determine why retail chains managed by the same group of companies in different countries have different pricing – they make decisions independently, taking into account the stated circumstances,” comments M. Tilmantas.
According to him, customers can constantly find special offers for various ice creams in the Maximos network and purchase them, albeit at half the price.
“We are constantly looking for opportunities to offer customers low prices and we find such opportunities. Taking into account the different needs of our customers, we not only constantly look for ways to reduce regular prices, but also ensure that customers find attractive promotions every day and can put together a basket of goods at an affordable price for everyone,” says the representative of Maximos.
2023-11-02 17:34:38
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