After it came to light that Iceland Dairies (Mjólkursamsalan) had been fined ISK 480 million (USD 3.9 million, EUR 3.5 million) on Friday for a serious violation of anti-trust law, and its CEO had announced that prices would have to be increased to cover the cost of the fine, consumers have begun boycotting products from the company, most commonly known as MS.
At the same time, its competitors have seen a huge increase in demand for their products, Vísir reports. Grocery stores report that products from KÚ and Arna dairies rapidly disappear from their shelves.
Arna has been able to keep up with demand, but the CEO of Kú, Ólafur M. Magnússon, states that some shortage of Kú’s products can be expected in coming days, although workers do their best to answer the increased demand.
“There is a large increase in demand and we’ve been sending more orders to stores. Last weekend, we ran out of products, and consumers have been calling to ask where our products can be purchased. Companies have called, asking to transfer their business to us, so we clearly notice an increase in sales,” Ólafur remarked.
Kú will respond by increasing production and by offering new products. Ólafur stated that most stores show increased interest in Kú’s products, but due to the debate between Iceland Dairies and its competitors, certain ones refuse to carry products from Kú. Those are the stores of Samkaup, Skagfirðingabúð and Kaupfélag Skagfirðinga.
“Of course that’s sad, but we shouldn’t let it upset us. We feel the goodwill of consumers and couldn’t do this without them. Other stores in the market have supported us in every way, shown us incredible tolerance and goodwill, and I’m first and foremost grateful for that.”
