2023-09-19 21:31:00
After the shocking declarations, the return to economic reality? This Tuesday, at the end of the meeting held in Bercy on the possibility of reselling fuel at a loss from December 1, neither the invited distributors, nor Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, who received them, did not wish to express themselves. Officially at least.
Because since Élisabeth Borne announced, in our columns, that “exceptionally”, the ban on resale at a loss (enshrined in the law since 1963) was going to be lifted, “over a limited period of a few months”, the bosses of mass distribution are not taking off.
“Last Saturday evening, when we discovered the interview, we initially believed that the Prime Minister’s comments had not been understood by your journalists,” rewinds a distributor. “Honestly, she smoked the carpet! » says another. Only a third, although “skeptical” regarding this measure, says they “understand” the government’s current dilemma: “fuel at 2 euros is a taboo, it is also the specter of the Yellow Vests, we can hear that “They are doing everything they can to reduce the bill for motorists.”
A drop that might have repercussions on food
Yes, but here it is, brand owners have argued in recent days: no company can survive by selling at a loss. A fortiori if, as government spokesperson Olivier Véran announced on Sunday, prices at the pump were reduced by “50 cents”, which would represent “a saving of 25 euros on a 50 liter tank”. “An independent distributor who should lower his prices by 50 cents is dead in three weeks,” criticizes one of them, who, like many others, expresses himself vehemently on the social network LinkedIn.
In Bercy, Bruno Le Maire understood this well. Not only, following having received the independent pump attendants, on Monday, he confirmed that the independent stations “will benefit from compensation”, but he also and above all recalled on Tuesday that this “exceptional” measure is just an “additional option, open to distributors who can. , to participate in lowering prices.”
A hell of a step back. In short, therefore: nothing is obligatory. “The Mayor understood our constraints, he knows that this decision directly impacts our operating accounts. It just gives us a right,” rejoices a brand owner, who made it clear to Bercy that if he loses too much money on gasoline, he might be tempted… to raise his prices in the ‘eating. Suffice to say that certain anti-inflation baskets or quarters would then be in trouble.
“Five cents represents millions of euros”
Will distributors use this right from December 1? If so, it will be done sparingly. For now, everyone is running their calculators. Will? Won’t go? “The stakes are so high financially that each brand is multiplying the scenarios,” deciphers a good expert on the subject. Knowing that if one of them comes out of the woods (all eyes are on Michel-Edouard Leclerc), the others will be forced to follow.
“We will surely carry out operations, but one-offs, like over a weekend for example, like what we did for cost prices,” says the spokesperson for one of the main signs. Who wants to be transparent: “No need to hope for a reduction of 20, or even 10 cents. At most, we will go to 5 cents. »
“Five cents, but that’s already huge, that represents millions of euros lost in one weekend! » tempers another, who rather evokes a “very modest facial reduction”. Translate, a very small price reduction. But do not rule out, on the other hand, setting up a “loss-making” operation, for example during one of the weekends before Christmas.
In any case, nothing will be done before December 1, the government having confirmed this Tuesday that the law which should change the rules of the game was expected for this date. “1.99 is a ceiling, TotalEnergies’ policy will be ensured (…) I will not go lower. It is already a significant effort,” for his part, has already warned the CEO of TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanné, questioned by a journalist from the program “Quotidien”, noting the refusal to sell at a loss, while the brand has already decided a price cap.
“Another announcement from Matignon without consultation,” sighs a distributor, who recalls the “previous hiccup of the anti-inflation quarter, which left its mark. Once once more, it is from us and from us alone that we are being asked to account,” he regrets, with his eyes turned towards certain industrialists, accused “of not having sufficiently reflected the recent drop in raw materials in their prices “.
Aware that relations with major retail brands have been chaotic for several months, Bruno Le Maire closed Tuesday’s meeting by recalling that the 75 multinationals concerned by these criticisms would in turn be received “in the coming days”.
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