Romania Fines Retailers for Price Fixing
The Romanian Competition Council (RCC) said that it has fined four local food retailers and 21 of their suppliers a total of 154 million lei (RON) – equivalent to US$40.7m or €34.4m – for price fixing.
Its investigation revealed that local retailers Metro, Real, Selgros and Mega Image had agreements with their suppliers between 2005 and 2009 regarding the prices at which certain products were to be sold to customers, the RCC announced in a statement.
“This practice leads to higher prices for the final consumer, as the retailer could not lower the prices below the ceiling agreed with the supplier,” the statement added.
The retailers also had agreements with their suppliers regarding discount campaigns, which breached competition laws.
Mega Image was fined RON24.6m, Metro Cash&Carry Romania will pay RON49.7m, and fines of RON23.9m and RON29.2m were imposed on Real Hypermarket Romania and Selgros Cash&Carry Romania.
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