It’s a small bolt from the blue in the bookstore landscape in Switzerland. Payot should in the future be able to obtain supplies directly from France under the conditions in force in France, we learned on Thursday morning.
Following a legislative change introducing the notion of abuse of relative position, the French-speaking book distributor filed a complaint in 2022 with the Competition Commission (Comco). In its crosshairs: the Madrigall editorial group, notably owner of the Gallimard and Flammarion editions, which demanded much higher prices from Payot than those usually charged in France.
A possible recourse
“Payot does not have sufficient and reasonable alternative sources of supply. Giving up the sale of Madrigall books is not a realistic option either,” said COMCO in a press release published Thursday morning. It therefore considers the purchase prices offered by Madrigall to Payot to be abusive and requests that the latter be able to benefit from the conditions applied in France.
Payot immediately expressed his satisfaction. “By this decision, Comco recognizes Payot SA’s right to direct supply from France at the market price and under the usual conditions of the sector,” underlines the company in a press release. The next step will be the implementation of the law and therefore of commercial supply conditions which allow us to offer a fair price to our customers while maintaining our quality bookstores in French-speaking Switzerland.”
The decision of the COMCO can be appealed to the Federal Administrative Court.
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