Shufersal Ltd. (TASE:SAE) will cut the prices of 30 basic goods by an average of 20%, after reaching a deal with the Tel Aviv Student Union, in exchange for which the Student Union cancelled the boycott on the supermarket chain that was scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Shufersal president and CEO Effi Rosenhaus signed the agreement. The supermarket will lower prices for cottage cheese, eggs, hummus, sugar, and other items. The parties agreed that the list of goods will be published at the beginning of next week.
Shufersal asked for time to implement the price cuts, and it will probably ask the suppliers of these products to absorb a large part, or even all, of the reductions.
"We do not want Shufersal to go bankrupt. This is a first step. I want to generate momentum," Tel Aviv Student Union leader Ran Livne told "Globes".
The students said that Shufersal promised to apply the price cuts at all its branches, including Shufersal Sheli and Shufersal Deal, irrespective of location or brand. The supermarket chain will also freeze all price hikes until January.
"This is the first major achievement of the current wave of consumer protests. This is the first step toward restoring sanity to Israel's food market. We call on the Israeli public to join the million-person march on Saturday night, and to join the next consumer protest that we will announce on Sunday," said Livne.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 31, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011