PepsiCo Defies Fears of Consumer Slowdown With Strong Earnings and Forecast
New York TimesDec 01, 2022
Grocery Chain Carrefour Stops Selling PepsiCo Products
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The Facts
Carrefour, a major global grocery chain, announced to consumers on Thursday that it was pulling multiple PepsiCo products from its stores in France, Italy, Belgium, and Spain. The supermarket franchise said this was due to PepsiCo's "unacceptable price increases."
In light of the rising cost of food in Europe, Carrefour has declared it is "committed to lowering prices." Following months of unsuccessful talks, the retailer will start taking PepsiCo brands such as Lipton tea, Doritos, Lay's potato chips, and soft drinks off its shelves. Items will not be restocked once they are sold out.
The Spin
Narrative A
Europe's consumers are going through one of the worst cost-of-living crises in decades. Many governments, particularly the French, have made it a priority to try to lower food prices and have called for an early end to the yearly negotiations between retailers and suppliers. As a result, Carrefour's decision to de-list PepsiCo brands from its store because of its unacceptable price increases sends a strong signal to other manufacturers not to pass on unnecessary price hikes to consumers.
Narrative B
Carrefour's decision to discontinue carrying PepsiCo goods is a daring one. French retailers are still negotiating with the food industry, so the action may be just an aggressive tactic to get PepsiCo to give in to its demands. However, there's also a chance the strategy won't work if customers switch to a competing store because Carrefour doesn't stock their preferred PepsiCo brand.