Swedish grocery giants to cut prices on hundreds of items
Swedish supermarket chains Ica and Coop vowed to lower prices on a range of items, following a similar move by Lidl last week.
Ica on Monday morning said that it would cut prices on more than 300 items by between 5 and 25 percent, starting April 11th and lasting at least two months.
It said bread, poultry, cheese, cured meats, sauces, dry goods, baby food and hygiene products would be affected by the price cuts.
Ica is the largest supermarket chain in Sweden with around 36 percent of the market share. Ica franchisees are allowed to independently set their own prices, so the number of items affected and their actual cost will vary from store to store.
The price cuts come after Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson urged Swedish supermarkets to follow Lidl's example, after the chain (which owns about 5-6 percent of the market) last week announced it would lower and freeze prices on more than a hundred items from March 27th.
Coop also announced on Monday that it would lower prices on all fresh fruit and vegetables by 12 percent for its members. Coop's price cuts will start on March 30th and apply throughout April.
Household grocery bills are soaring in Sweden, as The Local has previously reported. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages last month rose 21 percent year-on-year, the biggest increase since the 1950s, eclipsing even the high-inflation years of the 70s.
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Ica on Monday morning said that it would cut prices on more than 300 items by between 5 and 25 percent, starting April 11th and lasting at least two months.
It said bread, poultry, cheese, cured meats, sauces, dry goods, baby food and hygiene products would be affected by the price cuts.
Ica is the largest supermarket chain in Sweden with around 36 percent of the market share. Ica franchisees are allowed to independently set their own prices, so the number of items affected and their actual cost will vary from store to store.
The price cuts come after Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson urged Swedish supermarkets to follow Lidl's example, after the chain (which owns about 5-6 percent of the market) last week announced it would lower and freeze prices on more than a hundred items from March 27th.
Coop also announced on Monday that it would lower prices on all fresh fruit and vegetables by 12 percent for its members. Coop's price cuts will start on March 30th and apply throughout April.
Household grocery bills are soaring in Sweden, as The Local has previously reported. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages last month rose 21 percent year-on-year, the biggest increase since the 1950s, eclipsing even the high-inflation years of the 70s.
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