Following an investigation report from the Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF), the Autorité de la concurrence is imposing a fine of €226,000 (US$274,451) on tea producer Dammann Frères for restricting the pricing freedom of its retailers from April 2015 to June 2017 by setting the final sales price of its brand products sold online.
The Autorité found that Dammann Frères, under the pretext of providing its retailers with recommended prices, had in fact imposed resale prices. Failure to comply with these sales prices was sometimes sanctioned by Dammann Frères by retaliating against retailers who continued to ignore its price incentives.
By preventing its online retailers from freely determining their online sales prices, Dammann Frères deprived final consumers of the benefits resulting from price competition between retailers.
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