Carrefour Launches 30 Items For 30 Euros Money Saving Deal In Spain
Spain News
Published: 08 September 2022 15:37 CET
Supermarket chain Carrefour has announced it will sell consumers across Spain a basket of 30 basic household goods, including food, for 30 euros.
The announcement comes just hours after Deputy Prime Minister, Yolanda Diaz, declared that she would meet with big retailers to discuss "reducing the price of food and other essential items in shops throughout Spain."
The French retailer, which is the second-largest grocery chain in Spain, after Mercadona, has said that it hopes to help cushion the blow for people across the country during these hard financial times.
The basket of basic items will contain everything from grocery staples such as tinned food, pasta, cereal, oil, preserves, coffee and a selection of personal care, perfumery and cleaning products.
The promotion was announced on Twitter by Alexandre de Palma, the Executive Director of Carrefour Spain, who explained that “the current situation requires agile and effective measures.”
“At this time, when each act of purchase is more valuable than ever, Carrefour responds to its customers: we work to offer savings solutions that protect the purchasing power of families in Spain.”
The government's announcement and the move by Carrefour has been met with criticism by some politicians and Spanish business groups, who see the move as the government engaging in ‘price intervention’.
The main employers' association, the CEOE, denounced Carrefour's move as "soviet" whilst Spain's agriculture minister, a member of coalition leader Socialist Party (PSOE), said under European law, price interventions could only be adopted in regulated markets.
Diaz, has however denied these criticisms, explaining that the move will help impoverished families continue to eat healthily.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Diaz said that she had never mentioned price interventions, but rather "an agreement between retailers and consumer and user associations to do something...completely legal."
In August Spain’s inflation rate hit 10.3 percent and in July the price of flour rose almost 40 percent, along with pasta, milk and egg prices that increased by 22 percent.
The Spanish government has already committed 30 billion euros to help with high energy costs such as with fuel rebates and VAT reductions for both electricity and gas.
Back in June, Spain also capped the price of gas used to produce electricity, a move that is now being studied for duplication in the rest of the bloc's countries.
Another move that has proved popular has been the launch of free rail passes, plus discounts on public transport across the cities.
According to government spokesperson Isabel Rodriguez, the Deputy Prime Minister has the backing of the government in regards to speaking with supermarkets.
Carrefour and Diaz will meet on Thursday, and Diaz will then meet with retailers' associations and consumer groups on Monday.
Sources
https://www.reuters.com/business/carrefour-unveils-30-euro-shopping-basket-spain-after-government-price-cut-2022-09-07/
https://www.esmmagazine.com/retail/carrefour-unveils-e30-shopping-basket-in-spain-following-price-cut-proposal-207051
https://spanishnewstoday.com/30_items_for_30_euros_carrefour_launches_mega_money_saving_deal_in_spain_1830921-a.html
