Dentagard cheats on priceDrugstore chain dm bans toothpaste manufacturer from its shelves.

When it comes to haggling over prices, things get rough in retail. However, companies are seldom as much of a target as the consumer goods manufacturer Colgate-Palmolive is currently being shown up by Germany's largest drugstore chain, dm.
Dentagard toothpaste was supposed to be on the shelf in the Düsseldorf branch of the dm drugstore chain. The pack of 100 milliliters at a price of 75 cents. But the space on the shelf is empty. Instead, a sign is stuck there: "Same price with less content: we're on strike! dm."
Then comes the explanation: the manufacturer of Dentagard - the consumer goods group Colgate-Palmolive - has reduced the contents of the tube from 100 milliliters to 75 milliliters, but is still demanding the previous price. In the customer's interest, dm did not want to go along with this. As a result, the toothpaste is currently not available. Germany's largest drugstore chain is pillorying one of its most important suppliers.
A spectacular move, according to marketing expert Martin Fassnacht from the WHU business school. "The trick of reducing the content without lowering the price is often used in retail. But the fact that a retailer explicitly draws customers' attention to the fact that a manufacturer wants to reduce the price-performance ratio is new."

When asked, Erich Harsch, Chairman of the dm Management Board, confirmed: "We do not want to pass this price increase on to our customers." The aim is to remain "the cheapest supplier of drugstore goods in the future", emphasizes Harsch.

Source: www.focus.de