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Meanwhile in Sweden the CEO of ICA, the largest supermarket chain in the country (53% of the market) said yesterday: "It is actually the consumer who controls w

Meanwhile in Sweden the CEO of ICA, the largest supermarket chain in the country (53% of the market) said yesterday: "It is actually the consumer who controls what they are prepared to pay for a product. In the end, it is they who decide." https://omni.se/icas-vd-det-ar-kunderna-som-avgor-matpriset/a/3Ex1zd https://omni.se/icas-vd-det-ar-kunderna-som-avgor-matpriset/...

contravariant 4y ago
That does not contradict the situation in the UK.
- illiarian 4y ago
  I didn't quote it to contradict the situation.
  - jorts 4y ago
    The way you phrased it made it seem that way. Starting with "Meanwhile" is a common way of introducing a contradictory scenario.
    - illiarian 4y ago
      It might be my own idiosyncrasies coming through (non-native speaker + how we use the term among friends to point out stupid stuff)
      - skybrian 4y ago
        "Meanwhile" means there isn't any particular connection, but replying in disagreement is very common and on social media it's often assumed if ambiguous.
        kzrdude 4y ago
        This seems to happen all the time. Someone is just trying to make conversation (like me, here) and people try really hard to see in what way they were attacked by the comment.
        skybrian 4y ago
        To be fair, I almost always reply in at least mild disagreement, though I try to be friendly about it. I’m doing that now. If I agree, I upvote and move on.
    - contravariant 4y ago
      Can I just point out that my comment wasn't an outright contradiction either, people just assumed it must have been one (correctly, in this case) since it would have been a rather pointless observation otherwise.
clnq 4y ago
In an ironic way, the consumers decided to leave the EU and expose the UK to higher inflation. Though much of the world has been seeing severe inflation at this time, it would have probably been better if the UK had access to a broader food market.
- skippyboxedhero 4y ago
  The inflation for these products came from the EU, the reason why prices for tomatoes went up is because Dutch farmers have been paying significantly higher energy costs (some supermarkets chose to hold no stock instead of paying these prices too).
- cscurmudgeon 4y ago
  https://www.statista.com/statistics/1286407/eu-food-inflation-rate/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1286407/eu-food-inflatio...
- Veen 4y ago
  The UK still has access to those markets. The problem is not that we can't import goods, but that there are fewer goods to import and they are being sold at higher prices. For example, in January, food inflation in France was 14.8% and in the UK it was slightly lower at 13.3% and the OECD rate was 15.2%. It's not a Brexit problem; it's a production problem. - https://tradingeconomics.com/france/food-inflation https://tradingeconomics.com/france/food-inflation - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/04/record-133-uk-food-inflation-raises-fears-of-another-difficult-year https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/04/record-133-... -https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/recenttrendsinukfoodanddrinkproducerandconsumerprices/january2023 https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/arti...
  - mjburgess 4y ago
    It's not a problem caused by brexit; it's just a problem made less severe by zero-trade barriers with the countries you're importing food from. The UK is one of the most import-dependent nations in europe, and the world; it's easy to give good reasons to suppose had the UK been in the EU it would have seen below-average inflation.
clnq 4y ago
The consumer decides what they are prepared to pay for a product, unless the demand is inelastic. And for food overall, the demand is inelastic. Consumers cannot just say "food is too expensive for me, so I think I'm going to to go without it this month". They can choose between the individual products they buy, so it wouldn't be a problem if just some food items got expensive. But the price of food overall is inflating.
- rcme 4y ago
  Demand for food overall is inelastic, but the demand for specific foodstuffs is elastic. The measure of inflation we're discussing is across all foodstuffs.
  - vanderZwan 4y ago
    Aren't you just confirming what they said?
    - sebzim4500 4y ago
      Not really, people could eat cheaper food. Not to mention that most people eat too many calories.
      - deusum 4y ago
        Expecting everyone to just give up meat and bread for rice and beans is nonsense. And eating too many calories is unhealthy, but who are you to decide. You're blaming the victim.
        bryanlarsen 4y ago
        Steak consumption is down 20%. I presume hot dog consumption is up a similar amount.
        genocidicbunny 4y ago
guerrilla 4y ago
Also note that Lidl droppeded its prices and the others came out "predicting" lower prices just hours after Svantesson (finance minister) came out of that meeting with the oligopoly and complained about the lack of competition. I think they got the message, but will it be enough? I doubt it.
mytailorisrich 4y ago
There is something called price elasticity of demand, which is how much demand reacts to changes in price. Here we're discussing food... People have to eat so demand for food, at least staples, does not change much when prices rise as long as people can afford to pay (and by and large currently they can). It should also be noted that in developed countries the price of food has collapsed as a proportion of people's income over the last 100 years. So the reality is that even if prices double demand will probably not change much apart from some arbitrages (go to cheaper brands/supermarkets, drop in demand of a few luxury items and non food items).
- dangwhy 4y ago
  > People have to eat People in west vastly overestimate how much they have to eat. We wouldn't have health epidemic if people can just stop eating all the time.
  - slaymaker1907 4y ago
    This is complete nonsense. Yes, people overeat, but it only takes a small surplus of calories to put on weight.
    - dangwhy 4y ago
      you really think americans are eating 'small surplus' ? Last year that number was 3600 ( fda recommendation is 2000, for reference ) imagine what will happen to food prices if americans cut their consumption by half.
paxys 4y ago
"If the customer didn't want to pay high prices, they'd just not buy food. Supply and demand working as intended." – CEOs of all these companies
odood 4y ago
And people will, by going to shops that are cheaper than ICA. We vote with our feet and our wallet.
- brewdad 4y ago
  I hope that continues to be an option. In my neighborhood, they finally changed the signage from a merger that happened a while ago. I now have two Safeways within a mile of my house with the next closest grocer being a high end store 4 miles away and a discount grocer 6 miles away. I fully expect one or both of those stores to be absorbed by the Safeway/Albertsons/Kroger monolith in the next few years.
varispeed 4y ago
The supermarkets in the UK engage in price fixing so consumer can only decide so much when each supermarket has the same price and smaller shops are priced out of the market. In the UK where big business dominate, the competition is illusory and regulators turn the blind eye.

contravariant 4y ago

That does not contradict the situation in the UK.

illiarian 4y ago
I didn't quote it to contradict the situation.
- jorts 4y ago
  The way you phrased it made it seem that way. Starting with "Meanwhile" is a common way of introducing a contradictory scenario.
  - illiarian 4y ago
    It might be my own idiosyncrasies coming through (non-native speaker + how we use the term among friends to point out stupid stuff)
    - skybrian 4y ago
      "Meanwhile" means there isn't any particular connection, but replying in disagreement is very common and on social media it's often assumed if ambiguous.
      - kzrdude 4y ago
        This seems to happen all the time. Someone is just trying to make conversation (like me, here) and people try really hard to see in what way they were attacked by the comment.
        skybrian 4y ago
        To be fair, I almost always reply in at least mild disagreement, though I try to be friendly about it. I’m doing that now. If I agree, I upvote and move on.
  - contravariant 4y ago
    Can I just point out that my comment wasn't an outright contradiction either, people just assumed it must have been one (correctly, in this case) since it would have been a rather pointless observation otherwise.

clnq 4y ago

In an ironic way, the consumers decided to leave the EU and expose the UK to higher inflation. Though much of the world has been seeing severe inflation at this time, it would have probably been better if the UK had access to a broader food market.

skippyboxedhero 4y ago
The inflation for these products came from the EU, the reason why prices for tomatoes went up is because Dutch farmers have been paying significantly higher energy costs (some supermarkets chose to hold no stock instead of paying these prices too).
cscurmudgeon 4y ago
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1286407/eu-food-inflation-rate/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1286407/eu-food-inflatio...
Veen 4y ago
The UK still has access to those markets. The problem is not that we can't import goods, but that there are fewer goods to import and they are being sold at higher prices. For example, in January, food inflation in France was 14.8% and in the UK it was slightly lower at 13.3% and the OECD rate was 15.2%. It's not a Brexit problem; it's a production problem. - https://tradingeconomics.com/france/food-inflation https://tradingeconomics.com/france/food-inflation - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/04/record-133-uk-food-inflation-raises-fears-of-another-difficult-year https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/04/record-133-... -https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/recenttrendsinukfoodanddrinkproducerandconsumerprices/january2023 https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/arti...
- mjburgess 4y ago
  It's not a problem caused by brexit; it's just a problem made less severe by zero-trade barriers with the countries you're importing food from. The UK is one of the most import-dependent nations in europe, and the world; it's easy to give good reasons to suppose had the UK been in the EU it would have seen below-average inflation.

clnq 4y ago

The consumer decides what they are prepared to pay for a product, unless the demand is inelastic. And for food overall, the demand is inelastic. Consumers cannot just say "food is too expensive for me, so I think I'm going to to go without it this month". They can choose between the individual products they buy, so it wouldn't be a problem if just some food items got expensive. But the price of food overall is inflating.

rcme 4y ago
Demand for food overall is inelastic, but the demand for specific foodstuffs is elastic. The measure of inflation we're discussing is across all foodstuffs.
- vanderZwan 4y ago
  Aren't you just confirming what they said?
  - sebzim4500 4y ago
    Not really, people could eat cheaper food. Not to mention that most people eat too many calories.
    - deusum 4y ago
      Expecting everyone to just give up meat and bread for rice and beans is nonsense. And eating too many calories is unhealthy, but who are you to decide. You're blaming the victim.
      - bryanlarsen 4y ago
        Steak consumption is down 20%. I presume hot dog consumption is up a similar amount.
        genocidicbunny 4y ago

guerrilla 4y ago

Also note that Lidl droppeded its prices and the others came out "predicting" lower prices just hours after Svantesson (finance minister) came out of that meeting with the oligopoly and complained about the lack of competition. I think they got the message, but will it be enough? I doubt it.

mytailorisrich 4y ago

There is something called price elasticity of demand, which is how much demand reacts to changes in price. Here we're discussing food... People have to eat so demand for food, at least staples, does not change much when prices rise as long as people can afford to pay (and by and large currently they can). It should also be noted that in developed countries the price of food has collapsed as a proportion of people's income over the last 100 years. So the reality is that even if prices double demand will probably not change much apart from some arbitrages (go to cheaper brands/supermarkets, drop in demand of a few luxury items and non food items).

dangwhy 4y ago
> People have to eat People in west vastly overestimate how much they have to eat. We wouldn't have health epidemic if people can just stop eating all the time.
- slaymaker1907 4y ago
  This is complete nonsense. Yes, people overeat, but it only takes a small surplus of calories to put on weight.
  - dangwhy 4y ago
    you really think americans are eating 'small surplus' ? Last year that number was 3600 ( fda recommendation is 2000, for reference ) imagine what will happen to food prices if americans cut their consumption by half.

paxys 4y ago

"If the customer didn't want to pay high prices, they'd just not buy food. Supply and demand working as intended." – CEOs of all these companies

odood 4y ago

And people will, by going to shops that are cheaper than ICA. We vote with our feet and our wallet.

brewdad 4y ago
I hope that continues to be an option. In my neighborhood, they finally changed the signage from a merger that happened a while ago. I now have two Safeways within a mile of my house with the next closest grocer being a high end store 4 miles away and a discount grocer 6 miles away. I fully expect one or both of those stores to be absorbed by the Safeway/Albertsons/Kroger monolith in the next few years.

varispeed 4y ago

The supermarkets in the UK engage in price fixing so consumer can only decide so much when each supermarket has the same price and smaller shops are priced out of the market. In the UK where big business dominate, the competition is illusory and regulators turn the blind eye.