German hypermarket Kaufland has pulled around 480 Unilever products from its shelves after failing to reach an agreement over Unilever’s proposed price hikes.
The Schwarz Group-owned store delisted several Unilever brands including Knorr, Lipton and Ben & Jerry’s from December 31, according to Reuters.
In a statement, Kaufland said its decision was prompted by “drastic price increases as well as unilateral changes to the terms and conditions of Unilever. As one of the world’s leading branded goods manufacturers, Unilever seeks, from Kaufland’s point of view, to use its outstanding market position to influence the retailer and further optimise its own revenues.”
The chain said that “despite all efforts no agreement could be reached with Unilever”.
Kaufland said that it had wanted fair cooperation with Unilever and had put forward solutions to the consumer goods giant in the past few months, but these were rejected.
Brands impacted include Magnum, Domestos, Dove, Rexona and much more. The decision will impact its 660 stores in Germany as well as stores in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.
Unilever has not commented on the issue.
