23.08.2024
News
Mondelez settles price dispute with Belgian food producer Colruyt
Colruyt expects the affected Mondelez brands, including Oreo, Milka and Philadelphia, to return to store shelves in the “coming days and weeks”.
Mondelez International has reached an agreement with Belgian food retailer Colruyt on product prices following a dispute between the two parties last month.
Colruyt said it expects the affected Mondelez brands, including Lu, Oreo and Philadelphia, to return to store shelves in the “coming days and weeks.”
The terms of the “balanced agreement” reached on June 6 were not disclosed.
It was reached after a price dispute between the two companies, when Colruyt accused Mondelez of violating the terms of a one-year agreement. In turn, Mondelez said that the price increase was necessary as it is struggling with “unprecedented, dynamic market conditions”.
Colruyt opposed further price increases, which led to a break in supplies to the retailer’s Lowest Prices and Okay chains. “We are the link in the chain that should protect consumers’ wallets, especially as the lowest-priced player,” the company said at the time.
Yesterday, a Mondelez spokesperson told Just Food: “We continue to constructively seek solutions and are very pleased to have reached a balanced agreement with Colruyt. We are doing everything possible to ensure that consumers can find their favorite products on store shelves as soon as possible. At this time, we are unable to provide any further details on the agreement.”
Colruyt said in a statement: “Negotiations between Mondelez and Colruyt Group have been ongoing over the past few weeks, after Mondelez wanted to revise the previously concluded one-year agreement for 2023.
“These negotiations have been held in a constructive atmosphere and today we can announce that an agreement has been reached and Mondelēz products will be supplied again.
“We are very pleased with the agreement reached and look forward to offering Mondelēz products to our customers again.”
In the three months to March 31, Mondelēz’s net income increased by 18.1% to $9.17 billion, driven by a 19.4% increase on an organic basis. The company has raised its expectations for organic net income growth in 2023 to more than 10%, up from the previous forecast of 5% to 7%.
The company reported that its underlying volume/mix grew by 3.2%. Its net profit amounted to $2.08 billion – up from $855 million a year earlier – but its gross margin fell from 38.4% a year ago to 37.6%.
In May, Colruyt predicted that its “consolidated net result” in the 2022/23 fiscal year would be “down significantly to significantly” from the previous year, when it was 288 million euros (then $314.6 million). However, the year-on-year decline is not expected to be as steep as in the first half of the financial year.