“It’s not all about wheat”: Lidl tackles E.Leclerc on its price comparison method in an aggressive advertisement

Lidl s'en est pris à E.Leclerc sur les réseaux sociaux. ILLUSTRATION MAXPPP

Le discounter d’origine allemande Lidl accuse le leader de la distribution alimentaire en France, E.Leclerc de "comparer l'incomparable" pour se présenter comme l'enseigne la mieux disante sur le prix.

War is declared between Lidl and E.Leclerc. In an advertisement broadcast on X (formerly Twitter) this Friday, January 12, the German discounter attacked frontally at the sign of Michel-Edouard Leclerc accusing him of "comparing the incomparable& ;quot; to present itself as the best selling brand on price.

Lidl, which has benefited much less than E.Leclerc from the French's concern about the soaring price of their groceries, pointed out a comparison between its cereals and those of the range first prize of its competitor.

"49% less wheat and 40% less cocoa"

"It's not all just a story’hellip; but the cereals we want to compare to ours are still missing 49%, and we're not even talking about cocoa…" writes Lidl on X.

Tout n’est pas qu’une histoire de blé… mais il en manque tout de même 49% aux céréales que l’on veut comparer aux nôtres, et on ne vous parle même pas du cacao 🙄 pic.twitter.com/19ktS9NY3k

— Lidl France (@lidlfrance) January 12, 2024

Cheaper, E.Leclerc cereals contain, says Lidl, "49% wheat and 40% less cocoa" than its own cereals. "We are ready to do anything to offer you the best prices but not to make you swallow anything", says the discounter.

For distribution sector expert Olivier Dauvers, this is a "new episode in the advertising battle between Lidl and Leclerc", which "reaches levels (of aggression) never seen before.

It takes place in a context of strong competition between distributors, exacerbated by inflation which has reinforced consumers' interest in low prices, real or perceived as such. The group of independents E.Leclerc, leader in the sector with almost a quarter of the market, benefited in 2023 from an impressive gain in market share.

Comparative advertisements with variable methodologies

Among the arguments deployed to try to convince new customers, distributors use comparative advertising with variable methodologies (local or national comparison, on all or part of the assortment…) allowing them to show that they are less expensive than the competition.

On BFMTV/RMC this Thursday, January 11, the president of Lidl France Michel Biero declared that’E. Leclerc, who "launched these comparators, took a step"that he had "never taken before", by comparing "branded products from distributors with low prices, even though these are not comparable products" from a quality point of view, according to him.