(Nettavisen) Rema 1000 is intensifying the price war for Easter goods, announcing cuts of up to 50% on 190 seasonal items.
The grocery chain confirmed to Nettavisen on Sunday that reductions will apply to popular products like Idun Ketchup, Nidar marzipan and Freia chocolate.
From Price Shock to Price Celebration
Just days after being significantly more expensive than competitors on several items, Rema 1000 is now responding to price cuts initiated by Oda, Kiwi, and Extra. Oda kicked off the Easter price war on Friday by reducing prices on over 70 products.
“Kiwi will always be the cheapest, and prices have already been adjusted downwards accordingly, or even more,” said Kristine Arvin, Communications Director at Kiwi, on Friday.
The Coop-owned Extra chain echoed that sentiment.
Initially, Rema 1000 held back from matching the cuts, resulting in higher prices. For example, a six-pack of Kvikklunsj chocolate bars cost 109 kroner at Rema on Friday afternoon, compared to 50 kroner at Kiwi, Extra, and Oda.
A large Freia milk chocolate bar was priced at 54.90 kroner at Rema 1000, whereas competitors immediately lowered their prices to 29.90 kroner following Oda’s lead.
Significant Cuts
While Rema was slower to cut chocolate prices, the company quickly established itself as a price leader on another popular Easter item: oranges. While Oda reduced the price of oranges from 33.20 to 29.90 kroner, Rema responded with what it calls a “knockout” price.
“We launched on Friday morning with price cuts on oranges to just 9.90 kroner. We have several exciting plans for Easter that we seem forward to sharing with our customers,” said Pia Mellbye, Sales and Marketing Director at Rema, on Friday.
Rema has now matched 40 of the price cuts made by Oda on Friday, including Nidar Easter marzipan, and added 150 additional reductions.
Harald Kristiansen, Communications Director at Coop, told Nettavisen that Extra will follow suit with price cuts on Sunday:
“Extra will continue to be Norway’s cheapest grocery chain, as confirmed by Nettavisen’s latest price survey. We are therefore adjusting our prices on comparable products continuously to be the cheapest for Easter,” he said to Nettavisen.
“Can confirm that we are also reducing prices to match or exceed competitors. Kiwi will always be the cheapest,” said Nora Helgesen, Communications Advisor at Kiwi, to Nettavisen.
The full list follows below:
