2023-05-25 19:43:45
Quebecers are not done with price hikes at the grocery store. This time, it is not Statistics Canada who says so, but the big boss of Metro.
• Read also: Grocery basket: more price increases to come at Metro
“We are still receiving requests for price increases from our suppliers,” said company president and CEO Eric La Flèche on Thursday.
The CEO who rarely makes public appearances was speaking on the sidelines of a conference of the Canadian Club, in Montreal, on the occasion of the official launch of the new loyalty program of the company, me.
The year 2022 has reached record highs for price increase requests from suppliers with 27,000 at Metro alone. The good news: the trend is down in 2023.
“There are fewer and it is for lesser amounts. This is a sign that things are slowing down,” added Mr. La Flèche, who might not give an exact figure for the current year.
photo provided by the canadian circle
Louis Morissette, on the right, took charge of the part questions and answers in company of the CEO of Metro, Eric La Flèche, Thursday, in Montreal.
Lots of reduflation
If all requests are not accepted, those that are are reflected on the consumer’s bill.
Grocery prices rose 9.1% in April, according to Statistics Canada, from 9.7% in March.
A more subtle way for suppliers to raise prices is through redflation. The practice is to reduce the quantity of product in the package without changing the price.
“I don’t know exactly how many providers do this, but there are and have been. We see that it is happening, ”conceded the CEO of Metro.
It ensures that the company negotiates as best it can. “But we don’t have the big end of the stick,” he pleads.
The company’s new loyalty program is just one way to fight inflation, “which isn’t coming down fast enough for everyone, including [Metro] ».
“It’s an important tool,” said La Flèche.
The new me card can now be used in all of the company’s stores: Metro, Super C, Jean Coutu, Brunet and Première Moisson.
No price cuts
If he qualifies the rewards linked to the program as “generous”, the boss of Metro cannot however promise that the prices displayed on the shelves will drop. “Our costs aren’t going down, they’re going up,” he said.
Metro “pays the price of inflation” and is only “the last link in the supply chain”, he repeated.
For the first six months of its 2023 fiscal year, the Quebec grocer posted profits of $449.9 million, up 10.9%.
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