Système U will launch a basket of “150 products at cost price” from Wednesday “for an indefinite period”, announced its president Dominique Schelcher on Wednesday 1 February, a commercial operation which comes at a time when the government is discussing with the sector an “anti-inflation basket”. The 4th largest retailer in France behind E.Leclerc, Carrefour and Intermarché “is not leaving the discussions with the government, we continue to be involved, however we think that there is an emergency for purchasing power and that March 1st” – the date on which the government hopes to bring its anti-inflation basket to a successful conclusion – is still a long way off”, explained Mr Schelcher in an interview with AFP.
The store will sell these 150 products, including “flour, pasta, mayonnaise, oil, coffee, honey, tuna, yoghurts, milk, sandwich bread and burgers”, without any more margin than the one provided for by the law, in Hyper U and Système U stores, said Dominique Schelcher. All of these products are private label, i.e. products for which the company owns the brand.