Fears of summer supermarket price war

By Matt Eley Matt

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Alcoholic beverage Asda

Pubs are set to face further pressure as supermarkets embark on a summer alcohol price war, according to an industry insider. A director at a beer...

Pubs are set to face further pressure as supermarkets embark on a summer alcohol price war, according to an industry insider.

A director at a beer brand with more than 30 years experience has told The Publican​ how he has "never seen anything" like the current deep discounting in Asda and Tesco.

Last week alone Asda launched a £9 deal for 20 cans of 440ml Stella. The supermarket giant is already selling 20 packs of Carlsberg Export, Budweiser and Carling at the same price.

The move appears to be a direct response to Tesco selling crates of the same size at £10.

The director, who does not want to be named, said: "In all of my years I have never known it to be as bad as this it is reaching quite ludicrous levels.

"This is still two months before the World Cup so it will probably lead to deals of two crates for £16 by the time it starts.

"All the talk about responsible retailing is just nonsense and it will heap pressure on pubs."

Dennis Griffiths, president of the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations, said: "It's absolutely ridiculous and it is the supermarkets that are killing our trade not the pubcos.

"Every time something like the World Cup comes round they run promotions like this. It is not responsible, it is against everything the government stands for yet somehow they get away with it."

He added: "On the same day Alistair Darling increased duty yet again the supermarkets reacted by dropping the price of alcohol in their stores."

But a spokesman for Tesco hit back and said the deals did not amount to a price war.

He added: "The sun is out, it's barbecue season and the World Cup is coming up. Certain products are on promotion but we have promotions in every single aisle of the store."

A spokeswoman for Asda said: "This offer is just part of our ongoing mission to lower the prices of shopping for our customers. Not related to any particular event.

"Our customers are already feeling the pinch and the last thing they need is higher prices. The vast majority of people drink responsibly and in moderation and minimum pricing will just penalise them without actually returning a single additional penny to the government to tackle alcohol misuse."

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