Lately, the atmosphere has been gloomy under the neon lights. At the supermarket, you have certainly noticed empty stalls, missing products, serial stock-outs… The phenomenon seems to affect a new section each time.
The causes of these shortages are multiple. Bad harvests, war in Ukraine, rising production costs… Some suppliers simply can no longer afford in-store delivery. And the situation is not ready to improve, according to the players in the sector.
The finding escapes no one: prices are soaring, and companies are also struggling to keep up. Between the cost of the raw material and the cost of energy, some foodstuffs simply become too expensive to produce.
“At some point, selling products on the shelves so as not to sell them, it no longer makes sense. And it is these types of decisions that we are making”, explained Dominique Schelcher, the boss of Super U stores, on franceinfo Tuesday morning.
The industrialist did not hide his concern, saying that “What is to be feared in the near future is that some products may indeed disappear from the shelves from time to time because they become too expensive to produce”. Eggs, rice… Professionals in certain sectors are already warning of a risk of shortage this winter. But many other products could also be the victim of stockouts in stores.
What to expect?
According to the boss of Super U, new shortages are to be expected, and they could affect all shelves.
“This is what we are currently getting into”, explained Dominique Schelcher on franceinfo. He even mentions a product that his brand has simply stopped producing.
Other products, in particular fresh products, could be victims of lack of supply or a drop in their production, for lack of resources.
And that’s not all. Dominique Schelcher also spoke to the radio microphone about the tension in the electricity network and the threat of an “inflation tsunami” on the shelves.
The somewhat dramatic expression was recently used by Michel-Edouard Leclerc, boss of the eponymous supermarkets. The head of Super U, he is even more pessimistic.
“I’m not talking about a tsunami. I am talking about lasting inflation: we were no longer used to inflation at this level which lasts over time”, he indicated, before returning to the evolution of the purchasing behavior of French faced with the general increase in the cost of living.
According to him, this year, sales of Christmas toys and chocolates are in free fall.
Another subject also torments the industrialist: the threat of rotating load shedding this winter, in the face of the tension of the national electricity network. “What concerns us is the risk of a food store being cut off. Supermarkets will not be preserved”, worried the boss.
