The directors of low-cost supermarkets Bónus and Krónan have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Public Association of Iceland (ASÍ), which announced yesterday that prices have increased by the largest proportion in these two stores versus other Icelandic supermarkets.
“I will call for further explanation from ASÍ. We have been leading in the competition on prices against Bónus and both companies have been on their toes, so this just doesn’t hold water,” the managing director of Krónan, Kristinn Skúlason, told Morgunbladid in reaction to ASÍ’s statement.
ASÍ concluded prices in general had increased the most in Krónan from March to May, by 4.6 percent. According to ASÍ, the price of soft drinks, juice and bottled water went up by 20 percent in Krónan in the same period.
The comparison showed prices at Bónus had also increased from March to May, by 2.0 percent, while prices at Nettó had decreased slightly, by 0.2 percent.
“We want to see what they are basing this on. Are they comparing the same product in March and May? When I see that it is easier for me to answer such accusations,” said Gudmundur Marteinsson, the managing director of Bónus.
The managing director of Nettó, Gunnar Egill Sigurdsson, said ASÍ’s conclusion is not surprising. “This coincides with […] the impact of the lowering of tariffs and of the VAT.”
Click here to read about price cuts in Iceland on March 1.
