Academic explains the tactics behind supermarket price wars

On Farming Today this week we heard a discussion about fairness in the food supply chain as supermarkets geared up for an Easter price war. Lisa Jack, Professor of Accounting at Portsmouth University, offered some interesting theories on the supermarket model. She described how such low pricing strategies are driving consumers’ perception that fresh produce is cheap, and how pricing and negotiation with suppliers happens behind the scenes.

She spoke about the ‘marketing fees’, volume discounts and bonus payments that supermarkets charge suppliers to have their products on shelves, which, she says, in some years can mean the difference between a profit or a loss for some supermarkets.

Listen (from 9:14 mins)