Jumbo thinks peak of supermarket price increases is over

Jumbo thinks that the period of massive price increases in supermarkets is steadily coming to an end. The peak is over at least, the supermarket chain said in the announcement of its half-year figures on Wednesday. But it also warned that wages and rents continue to rise, and that will have an upward effect on prices in the supermarket.

Jumbo said it tried to limit price increases where it could. For example, it negotiated hard with A-brand suppliers to moderate their price hikes and reduced margins on essential foods. But it couldn’t do much. “We have very limited influence on many price increases,” CEO Ton van Veen said. The persistently high inflation made higher prices unavoidable.

“Fortunately, the situation with the excessive price increases is starting to calm down,” Van Veen said. The company expects the peak is over and prices will start decreasing. “But it will take some time before we can speak of normalization.”

Jumbo achieved 5.96 billion euros in consumer sales in the first half of this year, 8.8 percent more than the same period in 2022. According to the chain, the increase is mainly due to price increases.

“This was not our best period,” Van Veen said. “We are contending with unprecedented price, rent, and energy increases, a sharp rise in collective labor agreement wages, and declining consumer confidence.”

He also spoke of circumstances “in our own house” that demand a lot of attention. Van Veen took over as CEO in March when former chairman Frits van Eerd stepped down following his arrest in a money laundering investigation.