The French Competition Authority has imposed record sanctions of 611 million euros on 12 companies in the household appliances sector for price fixing between 2007 and 2014. A warning shot for practices deemed contrary to free competition .
Coordination to keep prices high
The announcement came Thursday: major manufacturers and distributors, including BSH, Whirlpool, Electrolux, SEB, Fnac Dartyet Boulangerwere sanctioned for having orchestrated a strategy of artificially maintaining sales prices.
According to the Competition Authority, manufacturers transmitted price instructions to distributors and ensured their application by using pressure measures. These practices, which included delays or stoppages of deliveries and exclusive salesaimed to counter growing competition from online distributors.
« These agreements had the effect of restricting competition and depriving consumers of the opportunity to benefit from competitive prices”said the Authority in its press release.
Sanctions in detail
- SEB : The French group received the heaviest sanction, namely 189.5 million euros. SEB immediately announced its intention to challenge this decision before the Paris Court of Appeal.
- Fnac Darty : The distributor was fined 109 million euros. Unlike SEB, he decided not to appeal and indicated that he would pay the fine.
- Electrolux : The Swedish giant received a sanction of 44.5 million eurosalready provisioned in its accounts since 2023.
Reactions and impacts
The SEB group reacted strongly, refuting the Authority’s conclusions. In a statement, he said: “ Groupe SEB has always acted in the interest of its clients and for the benefit of consumers, in strict compliance with the regulations in force. We strongly reject any allegations of anti-competitive practices. »
For its part, Fnac Darty chose not to contest the sanction, although its stock fell by 1,8 % on the Paris Stock Exchange.
A warning for the sector
The Competition Authority, by imposing these record fines, wishes to send a clear message to companies in the sector: price fixing practices, aimed at distorting competition, will be heavily sanctioned.
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