Groupe SEB ČR was specifically guilty of restricting its customers of Moulinex, Rowenta, Krups or Tefal products from freely setting the prices of the goods sold, the authority stated in the report, stating that the decision is final because the company itself entered into negotiations as part of the settlement procedure she admitted and did not file an appeal against the decision.
The distributor checked his price settings through the Heureka.cz comparator. If a seller set the price too low, he called on him, under the threat of sanctions, which he actually applied, to increase it.
“He was thus able to influence the price level of the goods in question on the relevant markets in the territory of the Czech Republic, despite the fact that he did not have to conclude price agreements with all his customers. Competitor Groupe SEB thus demonstrably entered into prohibited price vertical agreements with more than two dozen customers in the period from 19/04/2015 to 7/04/2022 with the aim of disrupting competition on the relevant markets,” added ÚOHS.
The authority justified the amount of the fine on the one hand by the company’s position on the market and on the other hand by the duration of the tortious conduct, which lasted seven years. On the other hand, when setting the fine, for example, above-standard cooperation during the investigation and voluntary termination of the anti-competitive conduct were positively manifested.
Electrolux also received a fine
This is already the third similar case in the segment of household electrical appliances in recent times, the office further pointed out. In February of this year, he punished Electrolux with a record fine of 125.4 million crowns for years of anti-competitive behavior. The company prohibited sellers of its products from discounting appliances below a set threshold. The same offense was also committed by FAST, which received a fine of 30.2 million crowns last May.
Groupe SEB ČR is a subsidiary of the French group Groupe SEB, which is a global manufacturer focused on small household appliances, kitchen appliances and appliances for personal care and kitchen supplies. It sells its goods to wholesale and retail customers, who then sell them to end customers.
The Antimonopoly Authority fined Electrolux a record 125 million for the rebate system
Economy
