The short version
- There is a price war on Grandiosa: Now it costs NOK 20.86 at the discount chains.
- Grocery expert Odd Gisholt says the stores sell at a loss, and that it is only the customers who benefit from all the grocery chains agreeing to the same low price.
- Gisholt also believes that the other frozen pizza brands will follow suit, and that we will see a bigger pizza price war.
- Kiwi Rælingen says they have sold large quantities. On Tuesday they set a limit of 3 Grandiosas per customer.
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Nothing, we are to believe grocery expert Odd Gisholt:
– The shops that offer this sell at a loss. So the question is who takes that loss.
The discount chains have stepped in and on Monday morning dumped the price of all Norwegians’ frozen favourite.
Now it costs NOK 20.86 for a Grandis at Coop’s low-price chain Extra, Kiwi and Rema 1000.
It is the lowest in several years, according to Nettavisen. Normally, the price of the people’s favorite is between NOK 40 and 60.
– There is a fierce battle between the three low-price chains. The overall market is pretty flat at the moment, and the only way to survive is to steal market space from your competitors. Then they are constantly trying new things, says Gisholt.
– But the only people who can enjoy this are me and you as consumers. It is a gift package for customers.
Grocery expert
Last week, the frozen pizza brand Dr. Oetker had an offer on its goods. Gisholt believes the Grandiosa battle for customers is the start of a full-scale pizza price war.
– Now there will probably be a price war on all types of pizza. This will affect other pizza brands for a short period of time, but they will probably follow up and catch on.
It was Coop’s Extra that kicked things off. It didn’t take long for the other stores to follow suit.
– That is what the game is about. They sell in certain periods at a loss, in the hope that customers will come to them from their competitors.
Stores are constantly dropping prices to attract customers. Last autumn, the low prices hit with price cuts on fish.
In February, we could read in VG’s food exchange that the price war in the food industry is intensifying:
Also read: VG’s food exchange: Intense price war!
– But is there any point in dumping the price when everyone else has done it, and the price is the same everywhere?
– No, this whole game is really something we should stop with. But the chains follow each other with argus eyes and are afraid of losing customers, so that’s why they do it.
Why Grandiosa?
It is not the first time that grocery chains are fighting for customers using Grandiosa as a lure. Also in January, there was a price war on the people’s favourite, when the price was reduced to 29.90.
– We Norwegians are a pizza-loving people and Grandiosa stands very strong. If you have a freezer, you can buy several at once.
– Will it be pizzarationingTo distribute goods that are in short supply, so that as many people as possible have access to them?
– No. But as I said, we are a pizza-eating people. It’s easy, convenient and there are many good pizzas to choose from. When I go through the fridge there can quickly be up to 50 different pizzas.
Kiwi shop is rationing
However, those who were to hoard at Kiwi Rælingen on Tuesday were met with this sign:
– We have sold large quantities of Grandiosa and saw ourselves having to set a limit today to avoid running out before the next delivery, writes store manager Øyvind Kilde in an SMS to VG.
– Fortunately, we receive more Grandiosa deliveries throughout the week.
Director of Communications at Kiwi Kristine Aakvaag Arvin, tells VG that they have not encouraged the stores to set restrictions.
– It is something we do exceptionally. Here it has been done in the best sense, because they saw that they were about to run out, and for the sake of the customers they then chose to set a limit.
Director of Communications at Kiwi
She does not know that there are several Kiwi stores that have set limits on the number of Grandisers per person.
– I can’t remember the price of Grandiosa being so low, she says.
– Kiwi has promised customers that we will be the cheapest no matter what. So when there is a promotion with a low-price competitor, we lower the price accordingly or more. It can happen that some stores run out, when the price is so low.
