E.Leclerc's European Purchasing Center Fined 33 Million Euros Amidst Heated Supplier Negotiations

Eurelec, the European central purchasing body of the French retail giant E.Leclerc, has been fined over 33 million euros by the DGCCRF for failing to meet the March 1, 2025, deadline for concluding commercial negotiations with French suppliers. The penalty, totaling 33,537,615 euros, was imposed for 70 violations related to supplier agreements in France. Eurelec, which is part of a group including Germany's Rewe and the Belgian-Dutch chain Ahold Delhaize, previously faced record fines of 38 million euros in 2024, and 6.34 million euros four years prior, for similar regulatory breaches.

These annual negotiations occur between December 1 and March 1 to set retail product prices, excluding private labels, and often become points of contention. Critics such as Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard cautioned about "blocking situations" threatening the agro-food sector, accusing retailers of exerting "deadly blackmail" during talks. Michel-Édouard Leclerc, president of E.Leclerc's strategic committee, rejected these accusations as "political blabber" and "mischaracterizations," emphasizing that retailers account for only 40-45% of final product prices while manufacturers hold significant pricing influence.

Leclerc defended the negotiation tactics as competitive responses to multinational corporations like Nestlé and Unilever, which he argued do not represent French farmers' interests. He noted that French commercial and agricultural laws, including the Egalim law protecting farmers' remuneration, are respected and the contentious discussions largely concern processed goods and industrial margins, rather than raw agricultural product pricing.

This latest sanction underscores ongoing regulatory scrutiny over how European purchasing centers operate within France’s legal framework, highlighting tensions between large retail groups, suppliers, and government authorities as they navigate complex commercial regulations.