In a decision rendered on December 19, 2024, the French competition authority fined certain French manufacturers and distributors €611 million for price fixing.
In 2007, online commerce scared traditional stores. In any case, this is the idea that emerges from a recent decision by the competition authority. Darty, Boulanger, Electrolux, Seb, Whirlpool, LG and many other manufacturers were imposed a hefty fine on December 19, 2024. In question, a vast system of agreement on prices intended to reduce competition and preserve margins .
The alleged acts extend from 2007 to 2014 and follow a first conviction of 189 million euros in 2018 for similar acts. The authority criticizes manufacturers for having implemented “vertical retail price setting practices» which prevented consumers “to benefit from more attractive prices for the purchase of their small and large household appliance products ».
A (highly) recommended price
Via several measures of “retaliation“, such as delays or stoppages in delivery, contract clauses imposing “brick-and-mortar stores», the dozen manufacturers concerned were cleaning up the resellers authorized to sell their product. The goal? Ensuring that these stores did not go below the recommended price, “which was understood by distributors as a price to be respected», notes the competition authority.
Among the distributors concerned, we therefore find Darty and Boulanger who have, “not only applied the price instructions, […] but also exercised real control over other distributors», notes rue de l’Échelle. The brands did not hesitate to designate resellers who did not respect the recommended prices or to ask for “margin offsets» to manufacturers in the event of competition that is a little too aggressive from online stores.
According to the competition authority, these agreements were negotiated using language “code» and the use of innuendo: “if you want to receive the product, you know what to do » ; « there’s a new product that just came out, if you want it…“. Several online distributors, harmed by this system, indicate that the manufacturers had “afraid of being recorded on the phone and distrustful of emails», preferring physical meetings.
The shrinking of online commerce
Result, “these practices thus eliminated intra-brand competition at the time of the development of Internet sales», notes the administrative authority. According to the estimates of a distributor interviewed as part of the investigation “the vast majority (around 95%) of distributors present online at the start of the practice have disappeared or been bought by traditional distributors. »
To go further
Acquisition of Rue du Commerce by LDLC: towards the concentration of computer equipment sites
Seb receives the largest fine with 189,500,000 million euros in sanctions, followed by Darty (109,000,000) and Boulanger (84,350,000). The authority considers in fact that distributors “by their weight, could have been able to put an end to anti-competitive practices“. Of the twelve companies targeted, ten chose not to contest the penalties, recognizing the grievances. The companies of the Seb and Boulanger groups contested, but without succeeding in turning the tide.
Related News :