Nutella discount sparks riots at French supermarkets
French supermarket chain Intermarche significantly discounted Nutella and shoppers broke out into brawls and riots trying to get the chocolate and hazelnut spread.
Stampeding customers rushed the aisles of a store in northern France on Thursday when a supermarket chain lowered the price of jars of the chocolate and hazelnut spread Nutella by 70 percent to 1.41 euros, or about $1.75.
In a video posted on Twitter shoppers are seen shoving each other and shouting as they try to get their hands on 33-ounce containers of the delicious spread.
Like many Americans, I was just relieved to see that something like this was going on in another country and not in the United States.
Whenever there’s a story about American shoppers fighting in the aisles of a Best Buy or Walmart over some door-buster discount on Black Friday, I picture oh-so sophisticated Europeans feeling superior and saying: “Look at those Americans! All this over a sale?”
West Palm Beach, USA - October 27, 2011: Product shot of a container of Nutella hazelnut and cocoa spread. A saucer with a slice of bread freshly spread with a layer of Nutella is in the background. (iStock)
Well now we know that the whole world loses its mind over the prospect of saving a few dollars. Being cheap is universal.
In the case of Nutella, I don’t blame the shoppers. I blame the supermarket operators. They should’ve known they were headed for trouble when they lowered the price of a jar by that much.
If you’re the type of parent who allows your children to spread this concoction on their toast in the morning (my wife and I are), you know it’s wise to keep several jars on hand to keep the whole family happy.
If I found myself in a store that was offering Nutella at such a deep discount I would do anything I could to secure a case, even if it meant coming to blows with a fellow shopper. (For the sake of argument I’m pretending that I do any of the shopping in our family. This disclaimer is for the purpose of truth in journalism, and also for when my wife reads this and shoots me a puzzled look.)
Although I do blame the supermarket management, I have some sympathy. In this age of Amazon and online shopping it’s harder than ever to get customers into your establishment. I guess we should all prepare for more fights.
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