The said agreements would have been effective between February 2007 and December 2014, according to the authority, and concern the companies BSH, Candy Hoover, Eberhardt, Electrolux, LG, Miele, SEB, Smeg, Whirlpool (in its name and as successor to ‘Indesit), Boulanger and Darty.
A system to maintain “artificially high” prices
The authority was referred “thanks to several clues transmitted by the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF)”. Following inspection and seizure operations, the administrative structure sanctioned six of these manufacturers for the first time in December 2018, to the tune of 189 million euros.
The administrative authority also detailed the facts. “Manufacturers communicated retail prices to distributors and monitored their correct application, not hesitating to resort to retaliatory measures (delays and stoppages of deliveries, implementation of exclusive sales systems, etc.) towards distributors who refused to comply with these price instructions. These practices would therefore have led to “reducing competition between distributors and maintaining artificially high prices for the end consumer”.
Reactions of sanctioned companies
In response to these sanctions, Fnac Darty management declares that it takes note of these decisions and does not contest the grievance. The fine imposed on the distributor amounts to 109 million euros, including “a provision of 85 million euros having already been recorded in the accounts of Fnac Darty in the second quarter of 2023”. The group will record an additional charge of 24 million euros for the 2024 financial year. Same story with the Swedish Electrolux, which must pay 44.5 million euros, a sum already covered by an accounting provision made up of 2023.
However, the Seb group, targeted by a fine of 189.5 million euros, declared that it “categorically refutes the conclusion of the Competition Authority held against it” and “will file an appeal before the Paris Court of Appeal “.
Among the manufacturers targeted, only BSH (which belongs to Bosch), Seb and Electrolux have production sites in France. Whirlpool and Candy Hoover were producing in France during the events. The first produced washing machines and dishwashers in Amiens (Somme) until 2018, while the second manufactured Rosières ovens in Lunery (Cher) until 2021.
