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Magnus Svarstad believes that pharmacy giants can easily cut prices in half and still make money. He sells the same type of mask as the giant Boots for half the price.
The National Institute of Public Health and the authorities recommend that Norwegians wear face masks in cases where it is difficult to observe a distance of one meter and when using public transport in Oslo.
In addition to the great giants of the pharmacy like Boots Y Pharmacy 1, various grocery stores, newsstands, and online gamers have started selling face masks.
Just over a month after Nettavisen Økonomi first checked mask prices in August, the prices for a 50-pack have dropped significantly:
Boots and Apotek 1 sold mouthpieces for NOK 499 on August 17, and they sell the same packages for NOK 299 and NOK 399 on September 25, respectively.
Pharmacyet It has also reduced prices by almost 200 crowns to 303.20 crowns. The same has Vitus Pharmacy, which has decreased from NOK 599.90 to NOK 399.90 for 50 masks.
ORAL LINKAGE: Surgical sanitary pads are sold over the counter at the pharmacy and are recommended for use in some cases when traveling.
Photo: Thomas Brun (NTB)
Responds to “artificially high” prices
Magnus Svarstad has been importing prints, clothing and banners from abroad for the last seven years through the Printmax company from Lillestrøm. He was stunned by the sharp increase in the price of face masks in August and decided to contact the manufacturers supplying Norwegian players.
Svarstad believes that the prices of the large pharmacy chains in Norway do not reflect the costs of the products and that the prices have not come close enough. When prices are between 300 and 400 crowns for 50 masks, that corresponds to between six and eight crowns per face bandage. It will be expensive in the long run, Svarstad believes.
– That an average consumer has to pay around 150 crowns a week to wear a mask to and from work, we believe it is consumer abuse in the crisis we are all in. This, of course, also leads to requests and recommendations that are harder to justify, says Printmax Chiefs.
Read more: Idar Vollvik on bandages: – A mistake we must learn from
IMPORT: Norway receives infection control teams by plane almost daily.
Photo: Vidar Ruud (NTB)
Since 2013, Svarstad has imported items from factories in Poland and China. When the importer consulted with factories in China, he was surprised at the availability of bandages: it was not expensive, difficult to communicate, and no bandages were lacking. Now he sells face masks for 150 crowns a box through the Munnbindetilalle.no site.
This makes it one of the two cheapest in Norway, according to Gjerrigknark.com.
– We placed an order for a million masks from the same factory, from the same supplier and from the same brand as Boots. As a giant gamer, I think they get a significantly better buy price than us, but we can still sell at half price and still make a lot of money, says Svarstad.
– We have read about tough buying prices in China and much higher demand than face mask deals. Do you claim that this is not true?
– It is clear that manufacturers had to increase production when demand soared earlier this year, and we saw some cases where factories did not comply with the EU standard in terms of labeling and product information. And providers have certainly raised prices. But I would say that if a manufacturer had doubled prices, the big drugstore chains would hardly have noticed, says Svarstad.
Also read: Nathalie (31) reacts to crowded buses in Oslo: – People cough and smell
– Not musical
– How can it be that you have much lower prices than the competition? It’s a trick?
– We have added the prices from before the crisis and sell at normal prices. We do not sell very cheap, but we have set a price that reflects the costs. In any case, mask prices will move in this direction, but not before someone puts pressure on the major players. I think it’s shocking and unmusical to sell such expensive face masks. We encourage everyone to cut prices in half, says Svarstad.
In an email to Nettavisen Økonomi, Boots Communications Manager Anne Margrethe Aldin Thune replies that the price of Boots’ bandages has at all times reflected the supply and purchase price at the time the various parts were purchased .
– As you say, the price has dropped considerably lately. This is a consequence of the fact that we have negotiated more favorable buy prices when we have bought new lots after the price spike this spring. This trend is likely to continue in the future, says Thune.
FOLLOW DOWN: Anne Margrethe Aldin Thune at Boots thinks mask prices are likely to continue to decline. However, she does not agree with Boots being overpaid.
Photo: Boots Pharmacy
The online newspaper Økonomi has sent a query to Apotek 1, but the pharmacy chain does not want to comment on it.
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