Filipović: The Tommy retail chain decided to submit product prices

Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Davor Filipović, said in Davos on Thursday that the retail chain Tommy has also decided to submit data on the prices of its products, and so far three retail chains have decided to join the mechanism for monitoring the prices of 80 products.

“The Tommy retail chain has decided to submit all the information we requested to the Ministry, so they join Konzum and KTC as examples of those retail chains that value Croatian citizens and consumers, and we will hold a meeting with them next week to agree on a price monitoring mechanism so that our citizens could compare prices in retail chains,” said Minister Davor Filipović in response to a journalist's inquiry.

He praised the mentioned three retail chains, and invited the others to join this initiative.

“We will form a price monitoring mechanism. I believe citizens will know how to respond to those who do not respond to this campaign, as well as according to the retail chains which so far show a high level of correctness,” Filipović pointed out.

Last week the Ministry asked the ten largest retail chains to answer by Tuesday whether they are ready to provide them with the prices of 80 products for public announcement on a so-called white list. This is intended to suppress the unjustified increase in prices that occurred with the switch from the kuna to the euro. By Tuesday morning, two chains, Konzum and KTC, answered in the affirmative.

Namely, the Ministry wants to enable comparability of price movements of a wider number of products that are essential for personal consumption, and which the Croatian Bureau of Statistics also takes into account in its calculation of consumer prices. 78 products are in question, i.e. the price of coffee and fruit juice offered by restaurants. A website is also in the process of being created, which will contain this information, and consumers will have the opportunity to check these prices by viewing the Ministry's website.

The Croatian Employers’ Association - Trade Association said on Tuesday that retailers are ready to participate in the implementation of the price monitoring mechanism after the retailers and the Ministry have previously agreed in detail and publicly announced the method of implementing the price comparison mechanism.

Source: HRT