Several shelves in supermarket chains Delhaize and Lidl are currently empty as the stores are no longer being supplied with dairy products from the Danone brand after failing to reach an agreement on price increases.
According to reports on the specialised RetailDetail website, messages are put up in Delhaize stores to say that several products are temporarily unavailable "due to difficult negotiations" with the supplier.
"The price increases that Danone is proposing are unacceptable. Everyone must make an effort, a supplier can't just expect customers to shoulder its increased costs," Delhaize spokesperson Roel Dekelver told Belga News Agency.
"We have a social role in keeping products affordable," he said, confirming that a price dispute is to blame for the empty shelves. Danone reportedly charges substantially more than other suppliers of similar products.
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About 50 of Danone's dairy products, including the popular Activia drinks and yoghurt, have disappeared from the shelves of the Delhaize stores. "There are plenty of alternatives to serve customers," said Dekelver.
Lidl, too, has been unable to reach an agreement with Danone, but the impact is less significant as the supermarket only offers a limited number of Danone dairy products, spokesperson Isabelle Colbrandt confirmed. “We hope that an agreement will be reached soon."
