Cleanshelf supermarkets on the spot for hiking price of hand sanitizers

Cleanshelf Supermarkets has been ordered to refund customers after it emerged that the retailer hiked the price of hand sanitizers on Sunday in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in Kenya.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Competition Authority of Kenya said it had established that the price of Tropical brand hand sanitizers, which retails at Ksh.800, was increased to amounts as high as Ksh.1000.

“Cleanshelf Supermarkets normally retails the specific hand sanitizers at Ksh.800. However, the authority has determined that the retailer on March 15, 2020, sold the same batch product to consumers at varying amounts above Ksh.800, including Ksh.1,000, with the prices increasing within hours,” said the authority in a statement.

The Competition Authority of Kenya termed the move as exploitation of customers, demanding that retailer to contact all customers who purchased the product and refund them within the next 10 days.

“The retailer, therefore, exploited its relative strength as a retailer to commercially detriment consumers whose bargaining position has been diminished following the pronouncement of existence COVID-19 in Kenya,” the statement read

“The Authority has therefore ordered Cleanshelf to contact and refund all the customers who purchased the 960 pieces of the Tropical brand hand sanitizers above the usual selling price and submit evidence to support the same by March 26, 2020,” adds the statement.