Consumer protection association calls for one-day retail chain boycott

Speaking to N1, Efektiva’s Dejan Gavrilovic explained that consumers should not stockpile from these retailers on Thursday, but instead shop at small stores and farmers’ markets on Friday.

The boycott targets five retail chains, including Lidl and four others recently investigated by the Competition Protection Commission, all of which Efektiva claims maintain high pricing policies.

Gavrilovic challenged the notion that Serbia’s high food prices are solely due to global inflation. “How do you explain the fact that a product made in Serbia is cheaper in the US, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro than in Serbia? This isn’t just about inflation – retail chains are maintaining high profit margins,” he said.

Gavrilovic referenced former Prime Minister Milos Vucevic’s October announcement that the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) and Security Information Agency (BIA) would investigate potential price manipulation.

“He never mentioned it again. They later launched the ‘best price’ campaign, which was merely a distraction,” Gavrilovic told N1.

When asked about the timing of the boycott, Gavrilovic explained that they initially held off when the Competition Protection Commission spoke out, hoping that the state would intervene.

He described the upcoming action as a “warning boycott” designed to test consumer influence and responses from both the government and retail chains.