The Israel Competition Authority has summoned supermarket chain Shufersal Ltd. (TASE:SAE) and its former CEO Itzik Abercohen and other former managers to a hearing before being filed with an indictment.
According to the indictment Shufersal and Abercohen allegedly made public statements through which he attempted to reach arrangements to raise prices. The former Shufersal managers and the company are suspected of violating the Food Law by interfering with the supplier Berman in the consumer prices of other marketing chains.
The decision to file an indictment subject to a hearing was made as part of the investigation into the food market that began in 2021 by the Investigations Department of the Competition Authority following public statements, as well as suspected violations of the Food Law.
According to the indictment, Abercohen conveyed a message to suppliers and retailers, through public statements in the media in October 2021, about Shufersal’s desire to raise prices, with the aim of leading to price increases in the food industry by suppliers and retailers.
In his statements, which were published in “Ma’ariv”, on the Ynet website and in “Yediot Ahronoth,” Abercohen said, among other things, “A wave of price increases is inevitable” and “The amount of the price increase will range between 3% and 7%”, and “I have not yet been contacted by any large manufacturer, since everyone is making an effort to avoid price increases, but I believe that in the coming weeks the contacts will come.” It is alleged that Abercohen expressed himself in this way, while being aware of the impact of his statements on the market.
According to the second suspicion in the indictment, managers at Shufersal agreed with officials at Berman, which supplies the chain with bread and baked goods, to increase consumer prices for Berman products at Shufersal, and as part of this, they demanded that Berman employees address the consumer prices charged by other retailers for its products, otherwise the consumer prices for Berman products at Shufersal would return to their previous levels. This allegedly violates Section 6 of the Food Law, which prohibits a retailer from interfering with a supplier regarding the consumer price that another retailer charges for a commodity.
Abercohen’s lawyers Advs. Ofer Tzur and Avner Finkelshtein of Gornitzky said, “Mr. Abercohen would like to make clear that he categorically rejects the allegations attributed to him. Mr. Abercohen served as CEO of Shufersal for many years and led the company while strictly adhering to the provisions of the law, the principles of free competition and responsibility towards the consumer public. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Abercohen acted with a deep commitment to transparency, proper management and adherence to the binding regulatory rules.
RELATED ARTICLES
“The general statements quoted in the letter of suspicion (for the purposes of the hearing), regarding the potential possibility of a price increases, were made by him orally in response to questions at a single public press conference in 2021. These are a few statements regarding global trends and a legitimate interpretation of global economic processes of rising commodity prices and their possible impact on the local market, while providing a substantive response to journalists’ questions.
“There was nothing in these general statements that could establish a suspicion of improper action or a desire to raise prices. The simple fact is that in practice Shufersal did not intend to raise prices, but rather took steps to prevent increases, fought to prevent prices from rising, and in any case did not raise prices during that period. This speaks for itself.
“Mr. Abercohen did not initiate or take part in any arrangement that could harm competition or consumers, and he is clearly and unequivocally certain that there was no flaw in his conduct. It is to be assumed that the Competition Authority will also understand this after a full and comprehensive review of the evidence and listening to the arguments at the hearing.”
Presumption of innocence: Shufersal and the former managers have not been convicted and have the right to be presumed innocent
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on April 22, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
