Carrefour's 'Israel Basket' Discount Program Ends After Six Months

The "Israel Basket" project, a discount initiative by the Carrefour supermarket chain in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, will conclude on October 14th, after only six months of operation. The program, which offered significantly reduced prices on 112 essential food and consumer items, is not being extended due to financial losses incurred by Carrefour. The initiative aimed to combat the high cost of living by leveraging consumer purchasing power to create price competition.

Launched with the goal of making a basket of 112 key products over 30% cheaper than in competing chains, the project faced challenges including weak sales and disputes over the product selection. Despite offering items like Persian rice for 4.90 shekels and olive oil for 19.90 shekels, Carrefour reportedly lost money on the program and did not attract enough new customers. The chain also implemented restrictions, such as limiting purchases to two units per item and not offering certain products like baby formula at the discounted price.

Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat announced the decision not to extend the program, stating it was to allow the next government to decide on its future. The Ministry of Economy will prepare a final report detailing sales data, consumer savings, program costs, and lessons learned, which will serve as a basis for the incoming government's decision. Preliminary data suggests the government's 25 million shekel investment yielded approximately 40 million shekels in direct consumer savings, with indirect savings estimated in the tens of millions due to price reductions at other retailers.

Carrefour's CEO, Inbal Harson, confirmed the program's end date and stated that the company would launch a new year-round "Carrefour Special Deal" program immediately after "Israel Basket" concludes, offering promotions across all its store formats and online.