washing powder pricefixing
Discussion
The consumer products giants Unilever and Procter & Gamble (P&G) have been fined 315m euros (£280m, $456m) for fixing washing powder prices in eight European countries. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13064928
Supposedly this cartel 'did not affect UK customers'. Is that really the case though? How can it cost up to £8 for a bottle of 'big name' laundry liquid when Morrison's own brand is half that? And then, two weeks ago, a quarter of that when Morrisons did a bottle for £1.85, limited to five bottles per customer? Can washing liquid really be worth £8 a litre? Same goes for dishwasher sachets, which are hilariously expensive.
Supposedly this cartel 'did not affect UK customers'. Is that really the case though? How can it cost up to £8 for a bottle of 'big name' laundry liquid when Morrison's own brand is half that? And then, two weeks ago, a quarter of that when Morrisons did a bottle for £1.85, limited to five bottles per customer? Can washing liquid really be worth £8 a litre? Same goes for dishwasher sachets, which are hilariously expensive.
tonym911 said:
The consumer products giants Unilever and Procter & Gamble (P&G) have been fined 315m euros (£280m, $456m) for fixing washing powder prices in eight European countries. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13064928
Supposedly this cartel 'did not affect UK customers'. Is that really the case though? How can it cost up to £8 for a bottle of 'big name' laundry liquid when Morrison's own brand is half that? And then, two weeks ago, a quarter of that when Morrisons did a bottle for £1.85, limited to five bottles per customer? Can washing liquid really be worth £8 a litre? Same goes for dishwasher sachets, which are hilariously expensive.
The fact that you can identify a vast difference in prices suggests to me that there was no price fixing in place. Supposedly this cartel 'did not affect UK customers'. Is that really the case though? How can it cost up to £8 for a bottle of 'big name' laundry liquid when Morrison's own brand is half that? And then, two weeks ago, a quarter of that when Morrisons did a bottle for £1.85, limited to five bottles per customer? Can washing liquid really be worth £8 a litre? Same goes for dishwasher sachets, which are hilariously expensive.
I don't agree. A cartel could easily be operating within the big-name brands, and the closeness of the pricing within those brands strongly suggests to me that something dodgy IS going on. Those big players will probably be grinding their teeth at the pricing of supermarket own brands but they have to go along with it if they want their own products on the shelves.
It's madness, I've never understood why anyone would pay for the big brands. I find the M&S liquitabs to be fine and usually stock up when they're on 2 for 1.
As there is some competition from the own brands (be it supermarkets or the cash and carry types which sell through cornershops) it doesn't fuss me as much as proper price fixing in a closed market.
Do we know if this was the product of a tip off, I think the EU gives a lot of leeway to the company which provides the tip off even if they were part of the cartel.
Edit to add - Yes, it was 'German company Henkel' who provided the tip off.
As there is some competition from the own brands (be it supermarkets or the cash and carry types which sell through cornershops) it doesn't fuss me as much as proper price fixing in a closed market.
Do we know if this was the product of a tip off, I think the EU gives a lot of leeway to the company which provides the tip off even if they were part of the cartel.
Edit to add - Yes, it was 'German company Henkel' who provided the tip off.
Edited by rpguk on Wednesday 13th April 13:59
rpguk said:
It's madness, I've never understood why anyone would pay for the big brands.
It's all marketing. Years ago. when ITV went on strike for several weeks and stopped showing adverts, all the branded products really suffered. PG Tips was noted as being badly affected.I have to say that I can't think of a supermarket brand of anything that I've been happy with, and we all know supermarket petrol is crap.
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff