Agreements on prices, pressure on distributors, retaliatory measures… On Thursday, December 19, the French competition authority sentenced 12 companies in the household appliances sector to a fine of 611 million euros. The reason? The ten manufacturers and two distributors (namely Boulanger, Darty, BSH, Electrolux, Whirlpool (Indesit), LG, Miele, SEB, Smeg, Andy Hoover, Eberhardt) agreed on the prices of certain products, while implementing a whole system of monitoring distributors… Practices “ particularly serious insofar as they were institutionalized, implemented in secret and concerned a large part of the players present on this market », notes the authority in its press release published on December 19. For consumers, the prices of certain products have been kept artificially higher.
The events took place between 2007 and 2014. The twelve companies agreed on the price of certain major household appliances (dishwasher, dryer, refrigerator, freezer, stove, microwave, cooktop, etc.) and small household appliances (vacuum cleaner, iron, food processor, kettle, coffee maker, hair removal, etc.). These companies communicated with “ coded language to hide price instructions “. Aware that they did not have the right to control the resale prices of their products “, they mentioned for example ” recommended prices » which were in fact prices to be respected, notes the authority.
These companies also monitored certain distributors to verify that they respected the prices indicated. Manufacturers preferred to avoid telephone and email, favoring physical meetings. Finally, distributors were under constant pressure, forced to respect prices and online sales bans imposed by manufacturers, the authority further specifies.
Also read: Google shopping: Google will have to pay its fine of 2.4 billion euros
Pressure, retaliatory measures…
Certain products should in fact not be sold on the internet, in order to favor physical points of sale and historical distributors (to the detriment of new online sites). And some manufacturers did not hesitate “ to resort to retaliatory measures (delays and stoppages of deliveries, implementation of exclusive sales systems, etc.) against distributors who refused to comply with these price instructions », notes the authority in its press release.
Concretely, these 12 companies wanted to prevent new websites from marketing their devices “at knockdown prices”. While online sales were booming, “ these practices have eliminated intra-brand competition, preventing consumers from benefiting from more attractive prices for the purchase of their small and large household appliance products. », Regrets the authority. On the distributor side, these illicit measures have in fact strengthened the players already in place. According to estimates from a distributor cited by the competition authority, “ the vast majority (around 95%) of distributors present online at the start of the practices have disappeared or been bought by traditional distributors ».
These practices particularly serious » were punished, more than ten years after the events, with a fine of 611 million euros, including 109 million for Fnac Darty and 84 million for Boulanger. The authority in fact points the finger at Darty and Boulanger, “ distributors (who, by their weight, could have been able to put an end to anti-competitive practices “. However, it is quite the opposite that happened, since “ Darty and Boulanger not only applied the price guidelines, thus allowing them to preserve their margins, but they also exercised real control over other distributors, not hesitating to point out to the manufacturers those who did not respect the recommended prices. ».
???? To not miss any news from 01net, follow us on Google News and WhatsApp.
Source :
Decision of the competition authority of December 19, 2024
Related News :