Tesco (LON:TSCO) has pulled eight Heineken (AMS:HEIA) brands, including Sol, Amstel and Kingfisher beer from its shelves after the supermarket refused to accept price increases from the brewer.
Heineken, which blamed Brexit and the budget for requesting higher prices, has seen 24 of the 53 their brands affected, with eight pulled from the shelves altogether.
Tesco’s refusal to pay more for the Heineken brands means that it will not stock Tiger, Amstel, Sol, Kingfisher, Birra Moretti, Blind Pig Cider, Fosters Gold and Fosters Radler.
Factors for higher prices included the high duty rise, increased costs for bottles, packaging and fuel due to the pound’s slump since the Brexit vote last year.
Heineken also faced pressure from the increase in alcohol taxes in the budget earlier this month. Philip Hammond raised beer duty in line with the retail price index measure of inflation however he used a forecast rate of 3.9 percent, rather than the current RPI level of 3.2 percent.
“We don’t comment on commercial arrangements with our customers. “Shoppers will continue to find a broad range of our fantastic beer and cider brands in Tesco.” a spokesperson for Heineken said.
A spokesperson for Tesco said: “We frequently review our ranges to ensure they meet the needs of customers. We continue to offer customers a great range of beer, lager and cider.”
This is not the first time that the UK’s largest supermarket has had a row with brands over prices since the EU referendum. In October 2016, it briefly pulled several Unilever (LON:ULVR) products including Marmite and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream when Unilever proposed a 10 percent increase to the supermarket prices to deal with increased costs associated with the sharp fall in the pound since the referendum. This was resolved within a week.
Heineken and Tesco are not expected to agree over pricing in the near future, according to sources.