Tesco chief warns brands any post-Brexit price hikes need to be 'justified'
Tesco’s chief executive Dave Lewis has warned brands against artificially inflating prices because of the fall in the pound, telling global suppliers price rises need to be “justified”.
Though agreeing there were inflationary pressures on brands post-Brexit, he urged companies not to increase prices in a bid to win over investors.
“The only thing we would ask of companies that are in that position is they don’t ask UK customers to pay inflated prices in order that their reporting currency is matinee,” he said. “They don’t do that for countries outside of the UK.”
Lewis’ comments follow a public fallout with Unilever after it tried to raise the cost of popular items including Marmite due to the weaker currency. The disagreement resulted in Tesco halting sales of Unilever goods altogether.
Since the UK voted to leave the EU in June the pound has fallen 16% against the dollar and to a lesser extent against the Euro. Post-referendum Mondelez-owned Toblerone has made controversial changes to its iconic bar, offering less chocolate for the RRP and Walkers and Birds Eye have both confirmed price rises.
Mars confectionary brands Maltesers and Galaxy have also seen their pouch sizes shrink.