GDI
Is everything really getting more expensive?
Price supervisor Stefan Meierhans has spent the last 18 years combating excessively high prices. We asked him how satisfied he is with Migros.
Stefan Meierhans, what do you yourself spend too much on?
Taxes and fees. Apart from that, I'm a typical bargain bin junkie. My latest purchase was a bike chain cleaning kit. My wife said I'd never need it, but I then used it immediately to clean all the bike chains in our garage.
Do you ever feel like you're fighting an uphill battle as everything seems to have been getting more expensive for years now?
Last year, we had zero inflation, so prices remained stable on average. When buying electronic equipment, you can get a lot more for your money today than you could ten years ago. Prices have also fallen for mobile phone contracts and public transport, such as the Night GA Travelcard.
That now appears to be over: transport operator SBB has announced fare increases. The cost of petrol has shot up.
Yes, for a few weeks now, we've had more and more reports from consumers. The war in Iran is threatening to make many products more expensive. I'm keeping a close eye on the profit margins for fuel. So far, we haven't found any legally significant irregularities in the price of crude oil. I can only intervene if something has a significant impact on the market. We will also take a very close look at SBB and adopt a position.
Many products are getting more expensive while companies like Lindt & Sprüngli are making strong profits. Are they profiting from the crisis?
Rising raw material prices and higher costs along the supply chain may explain price adjustments, but they don't justify excessive profit margins. Transparency is crucial. If profits grow significantly faster than costs, we must take a close look at whether the price increases are justified. Lively competition and informed consumers are key factors in preventing excessive prices.
Manufacturers of brand-name goods like L'Oréal charge far more in Switzerland than they do abroad. Migros is now taking a tough stance in its price negotiations. What are you doing about this 'Swiss premium'?
It's no secret that brand manufacturers often demand surcharges in Switzerland that can't be justified in terms of the cost. I've been opposing this for a long time. It's good that others are doing likewise.
What's your relationship with Migros as the price watchdog?
It's complicated. That's the best way to put it. But it has been more difficult in the past.
Medicine that costs CHF 100 here is available for CHF 20 in the UK. I'm fighting against that.
Migros spends CHF 500 million a year cutting the prices of more than 1000 products, which should make you happy.
A few large suppliers dominate the Swiss retail sector and wield great market power. Price cuts are therefore also the result of strategic decisions in a highly concentrated market. However, it goes without saying that lower prices are in the interests of all consumers.
Would you ever consider something too cheap? For instance, half a kilogramme of bread for less than a franc?
I'm only responsible for prices that are too high. Excessively low prices are a case for the Competition Commission.
One of the biggest issues in Switzerland is sky-rocketing rents. Can you do anything about this situation?
Unfortunately, I don't have a legal mandate for that. There are tens of thousands of landlords rather than one powerful player on the market whom I could target. But there are ways to protect yourself legally against extortionate rents and unlawful increases, although far too few people use them.
The cost of health insurance has also only been rising continuously for years.
I've been tackling this issue for decades! One of the many reasons for this is that we in Switzerland pay hundreds of millions of francs too much for generics every year. Medicine that costs CHF 100 here in Switzerland is available for CHF 20 in the UK. The state price regulations are simply wrong here.
Do you still have hope for our healthcare system?
It's difficult because the system is deeply flawed, for instance as regards hospital planning, where cantons often set the fees for their own hospitals. Last year, we saved hundreds ofmillions through price cuts. However, some of these savings evaporated immediately. The various stakeholders are putting up huge resistance. Sometimes it feels like a lone struggle.
You've now been in office for almost 18 years. What motivates you?
I've got the best job in the world! It brings me a little bit of joy every day. For example, when a grandmother writes to tell me that she can afford to visit her grandchildren again thanks to the SBB's saver tickets, or a vegetable farmer reports that the water rates which threatened his livelihood have now been reduced. These little issues matter just as much as the major political debates.