Overview
- Franceinfo reports that about 65% of food manufacturers still lacked agreements roughly ten days from the legal cutoff, citing unnamed industry sources.
- Suppliers say retailers are leveraging threats to delist products and have already pulled items from deliveries and click‑and‑collect platforms to force reductions.
- Some negotiation rooms were labeled "deflation," highlighting retailers’ push to lower shelf prices during closed‑door sessions described as highly confrontational.
- Retailers argue that declines in energy, transport and packaging costs justify price cuts, with Intermarché’s chief publicly defending this stance, and one chain claiming nearly all SME deals and about half with large groups are already signed.
- SMEs counter that key inputs such as cocoa and hazelnuts have jumped sharply, leaving them unable to cut prices without eroding margins, while distributors face fines if contracts are not concluded by March 1.