Carrefour pulling PepsiCo products from shelves

PARIS

Global supermarket chain Carrefour will stop selling PepsiCo products in its stores in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy over price increases for popular items like Lay's potato chips, Quaker Oats, Lipton Iced Tea and its namesake soda.

The French grocery chain said it pulled PepsiCo products from shelves in France on Jan. 4 and added small signs in stores that say, “We no longer sell this brand due to unacceptable price increases.”

It comes as a new French law meant to fight the rising cost of living has supermarkets facing millions in fines if they don't reach a deal with suppliers on prices by the end of the month.

The ban also will extend to Belgium, Spain and Italy, but Carrefour, which has 12,225 stores in more than 30 countries, didn't say when it would take effect in those countries.

The company behind Cheetos, Mountain Dew and Rice-A-Roni has raised prices by double-digit percentages for seven straight quarters, most recently hiking by 11 percent in the July-to-September period.

The 20 European Union countries that use the euro currency saw consumer prices rise to 2.9 percent in December from a year earlier, rebounding after seven straight monthly declines.

Prices for food and non-alcoholic drinks have eased from a painful 17.5 percent in the 20-country euro area in March but were still up by 6.9 percent in November from a year earlier.

Burt Flickinger III, managing director of grocery consultancy Strategic Resource Group, said he thinks PepsiCo was targeted because the company has been one of the most aggressive in raising prices.

He thinks other big brand names could be next and that other European retailers could follow Carrefour's lead.