War of the Grocers

Yesterday papers announced a new stage in the grocery wars. Thats how i have named what is happening in dutch food retail for the past two years. Most papers named it "supermarket wars", but that seems to suggest a kind of mythological dimension, which is altogether absent. After the introduction of the euro in 2002, prices had risen. With the economy slowing down and more and more people getting into dire financial straits dutch supermarkets were in for some heavy weather. The only way out for the suffering supermarkets, seemed to be in the form of substantial discounting. It has served the benefit of the dutch consumers wallet, but if this turns out to be a good thing for food retail still remains to be seen. The dutch could not easliy worry less. Spending money on good food has never been a top priority in most dutch households. Eating habits are not very demanding on food producers. Food is good when it's cheap, you might say. The Netherlands still are famous for their huge export numbers of vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers, but not everybody is enthusiastic about their taste. "Water-bombs", they seem to be called in some sophisticaded french restaurants. It's not something the dutch really worry about. Their food prices still are decreasing. Party-time, no?