In the last week and in the midst of a price increase, Secretary of Commerce Steps Up Inspections and Enforces 770 Fines Worth $806 Million for alleged violations of the Fair Prices program. This Monday evening, holiday, closed a branch of Jumbo located in the city of San Martín due to “missing goods and stock“, which caused surprise and also a lot of discomfort in the shackles.
The tightening of controls coincides with the leap in inflation. In January, the CPI rose to 6%, which contrasts with 5.1% in December and 4.9% the previous month. Faced with this, the government intensified surveillance of large supermarkets, the most representative channel of Prizzi Giusti. According to Comercio, in the various inspections “infringements related to the lack of goods and stocks have been recorded”, especially in “perfumery, personal care, cleaning, oils, tuna, flour, grass and noodles”.
In supermarkets, they believe that the closure of the Jumbo hypermarket could be the beginning of other similar measures. “We received several alerts (based on complaints via the Fair Prices mobile application) in a very short period of time and found that 32 products were out of stock and more than 14 had more than 80% shortages,” the official statement said. . What is striking, stand out in the industry, is that inspectors arrived at 21.00 on a long weekend when the level of supply is lower than usual.
On his Twitter account, Tombolini has published a video with images of the operation, with testimonies from trade inspectors and officials from the municipality of San Martín and Consumer Defense. “The state has done its part, which is why anyone who doesn’t comply is punished. Rewards and punishments, that’s what an agreement is forTombolini tweeted, referring to the deal at the Jumbo branch.
Jumbo belongs to the Chilean group Cencosud, which also controls and manages the Disco and Vea brands. It is the second largest chain in the country by number of outlets, after the French Carrefour. In supermarkets they have described the closure as an “extreme measure” and without justification. “Since November we have warned Tombolini of the lack of goods and that the producers deliver much less than we ask”, they complain.
Supermarkets warn that the level of compliance with the Right Price (which includes a basket of almost 2,000 products with frozen prices until June) about 45%, more due to default by suppliers than due to overheating of demand. as published clarionwhich affected the price gap with supermarkets, department stores and neighborhood shops. “They can fine you for signage or price hikes. But supply is the one thing we can’t control“, reason the supermarkets.
Dal Commerce explained that inspections and operations are common. Regarding the closure, they explained that “this procedure is part of the inspection plan”, intensified since last week. “The fines – Tombolini said in radio statements – were deployed both in supermarket chains such as Día, Carrefour, those of the Cencosud Group (Disco, Vea, Jumbo) and the wholesaler Maxiconsumo”. He also sued some food companies, such as “Cabrales and Nestlé”, according to the state agency Telam.
Regarding the latest operations, Tombolini said that several irregularities were found, such as “out of stock, lack of signage, use of posters in gondolas for products not part of the programme, duplication of labeling. And that, in some ways, goes one step further into the idea that we can’t put pricing in order and create predictability if we allow for abuse.” Commerce makes it clear that the sanctions imposed are not immediately applicable. This is the beginning of a long process, in which companies can make their defenses and present evidence to the contrary.
In any case, and in the midst of the Carnival festivities, the mass-consumption industry entered a deliberative state. They interpret that the tightening of controls It is a clear manifestation of the government’s concern about the inflationary escalation of recent weeks. “They know that supermarkets control barely 30% of mass consumer sales. And that inflation is reflected more in supermarkets and shops, which are the channels they cannot control,” they complain.
as posted clarion, consumption in convenience stores fell by -7.3% in January, “accelerating the levels of decline compared to previous periods”, indicates a report by the consultancy firm Scanntech. The contraction in sales in this channel accumulates 11 consecutive months, with peaks in August (-9%), September (-7.5%) and October (-11.1%). The decline in that quarter coincides with the relaunch of a new version of Prizzi Giusti, which attracts the public in large supermarkets.
Source: Clarin
