Zeev Vurembrand: Suppliers are pushing for higher prices and it's our job to block this.
"Suppliers are pushing for higher prices and it's our job to block this. We're doing everything through negotiations with our suppliers to ensure that our customers will get fair prices and the price hikes will stop," Blue Square Israel Ltd. (NYSE: BSI; TASE: BSI) president and CEO Zeev Vurembrand told "Globes".
Vurembrand made the comment in response to the expected 5-10% rise in food prices expected after Passover. Blue Square is also coping with intense competition and a boycott declared by some haredi (ultra-orthodox) rabbis against its parent company Alon Israel Oil Company Ltd., particularly Blue Square's Shefa Shuk supermarket chain.
Vurembrand said, "Competition in Israel is sharper than in Europe, but we're used to it. The non-food sector in Europe accounts for 20-40% of supermarket sales, whereas the proportion in Israel is under 10%. We have a great growth engine here."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 16, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008