Walmart has been accused of excessively raising prices on Great Value brand products by Robert Reich, who previously served as US Secretary of Labor in President Bill Clinton’s administration.
Robert Reich now works as a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and took to social media to express his concern.
“Walmart raised prices on its Great Value food brands,” Reich wrote in a post on X on March 23.
Walmart raised prices on its Great Value food brands.
The result? Its net income spiked 93% to $10.5 billion towards the end of 2023.
Walmart rewarded shareholders with $5.9 billion in buybacks and dividends.
When I say price gouging is driving inflation, this is what I mean.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) March 23, 2024
Some people expressed on social media that they agreed with Reich’s statement.
“It’s depressing to see how what was supposed to be the affordable grocery option around Walmart has consistently become expensive,” wrote one user on Reddit, according to the Best Life portal.
“I remember when jars of Great Value unsweetened coffee creamer were $1.50. Then, they increased to $1.75. Then, at $2.12. Now? $3.48,” she added.
Walmart, like many other companies, has blamed its price increases on high inflation.
The consumer price index (CPI) in the US reached 9.1% in June 2022, the highest increase seen in the country in 40 years, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. USA (BLS).
While inflation has declined since then, it is still considered high, at 3.2% in February 2024.
“Higher prices and inflation are with us,” said Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon, who also said shoppers should expect to see higher prices in 2024 than two years ago.
Despite these explanations, Reich said Walmart has increased the prices of its Great Value products unreasonably.
In his recent post on highest of its store brand.
Many agreed with the Berkeley professor in responses to his post, criticizing Walmart for its corporate greed and stating that it should be illegal to raise prices in this way.
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