2023-08-11 20:00:49
Besides the language and culture, there is another difference between EU countries: the price of products in the supermarket. Coke in the Netherlands, for example, is more expensive than in Germany. This is partly due to the purchase price: the amount that the retailer has to pay the manufacturer for all those cases of carbonated liquid.
Retailers prefer to buy their products in countries where they are the cheapest. That doesn’t work, because manufacturers put up all kinds of barriers. That is what the Vakcentrum for independent retail entrepreneurs says. Independent retailers are members of this trade association. The Ministry of Economic Affairs late research implement this practice.
What kind of products is it?
The purchasing barriers apply to branded products that the customer really wants. Think of breakfast cereals from A-brands, soft drinks, shampoos, vegetable preserves, detergents, bread spreads, but also dog food and even drills. “Products from brands that customers want to go around,” says Patricia Hoogstraten, director of the Vakcentrum.
How do manufacturers hinder imports?
Manufacturers often force retailers to source from their own country. Suppose a shopkeeper tries to buy a batch of much cheaper cola in Romania, then the manufacturer simply refuses. “He says: ‘you come from the Netherlands, so you have to buy it from our national sales office in the Netherlands’”, Hoogstraten repeats her experience. supporters. Manufacturers are allowed to do this because they have freedom of contract. They decide who they sell to.
Manufacturers can also hinder procurement in other ways. For example, products must be labeled in the language of the country where they will be sold. In that case, the purchasing retailer can start sticking labels in Dutch himself, but then the manufacturer hits back by no longer selling other products from its range. Products that the retailer does need to serve his customers.
Retailers have been complaining about this for a long time. Has nothing improved?
This year the EU celebrates the 30th anniversary of the internal market. As far as Hoogstraten and its members are concerned, the internal market is far from perfect, as long as it is not possible for them to buy products where they are cheapest. Retailers have been drawing attention to this problem since 2010. Since then, various studies have been carried out by the Benelux countries into the phenomenon of ‘territorial supply restrictions’. The European Commission has already concluded that the purchasing restriction costs consumers money. Measures to counter it have not been taken. In practice it is also difficult to prove. “For example, competition can only be proven if a manufacturer abuses its dominant market position,” says Hoogstraten.
How much are consumers paying too much?
The European Commission calculated in 2020 that it would save consumers around 14 billion euros if retailers could buy products in the countries where they are cheapest. The condition is that retailers pass on the purchase discount to their customers.
What needs to be done to solve it?
There is a European rule that protects consumers against ‘geo-blocking’. This rule obliges online stores to also deliver to citizens from other EU countries. The Vakcentrum would also like to see such a rule for retailers who want to buy in cheaper countries. The European Commission is investigating whether this possibility can be introduced. The Vakcentrum also wants the language requirements for labels to be modernized, for example by allowing products to receive a QR code. Then the consumer can easily look up the ingredients online in the language that he or she finds easiest.
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