Competition Authority: Fines of 658,328 euros on six watch trading companies

The Competition Commission imposed fines totaling 658,328.18 euros on six companies active in the trade-distribution sector of wristwatches for infringing practices.

In particular, with the under no. 757/2021 decision, the Plenary Session of the Competition Commission (EA) decided to impose fines totaling 658,328.18 euros on the companies:

– TIME CENTER REPRESENTATIONS TRADE OF WATCHES JEWELERY ELECTRONICS LIMITED COMPANY
– AKATERINI KANTZIKI-DIMITRIOS KOUTSIKOPOULOS IKE
– SHOP & TRADE ANONYMOUS COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL COMPANY FOR CLOTHING DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PROVISION
– SYMBOL HELLAS IMPORT JOINT STOCK COMPANY
– ORIS SA and
– AMER SPORTS EXPORT GMBH,

for violations of the provisions of articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and/ and 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in the wristwatch trading-distribution market.

The case concerns the examination of the complaint of the company COSTARELOS ANONYMI EMPORIKI KE XENOTOCHIAKI ETERIA against various importers/distributors of wristwatches for violations of the provisions of articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and/or 101 TFEU, and the relevant ex officio investigation by the General Directorate of Competition (GDA) in the market of trade-distribution of wristwatches for suspected infringing practices of companies in that market.

Procedure

In July 2017, the company KOSTARELOS ANONYMI EMPORIKI AND HOSTELIKA ETERIA filed a complaint before the EA directed against various companies active in the trade-distribution sector of wristwatches.

Subsequently, the GDA launched an ex officio investigation in the specific sector by carrying out a series of investigation measures (on-site inspections, questionnaires, etc.).

The relevant Recommendation was communicated to the reported and audited companies in December 2020. The hearing process before the EA Plenary took place in June and July 2021.

According to the Recommendation, from the information provided by the complainant, as well as from the information collected from on-site inspections and other investigation measures of the Service, it was found that the above companies have adopted, at different time intervals each during the period 2011 to and today, practices, which, on a case-by-case basis, have taken the form of:

(a) determining resale prices, and/or

(b) actions to limit parallel trade, and/or

(c) limiting mutual supplies between members of a selective distribution network, and/or

(d) prohibition of passive sales.

The decision of the EA

With the under no. 757/2021 of its decision, the Plenary of the EA unanimously decided, following a relevant Proposal, the following:

In relation to the company called TIME CENTER DEPARTMENTS TRADE OF WATCHES JEWELRY ELECTRONIC COMPANY ANONYMOUS: Violation of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU on the determination of resale prices and the prevention of parallel trade, which lasted at least from the year 2012 to year 2017 and imposing a fine of 154.11 euros.

With reference to the company with the name AIKATERINI KANTZIKI – DIMITRIOS KOUTSIKOPOULOS IKE: Violation of articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU for setting resale prices, with the simultaneous implementation of a mechanism to monitor the set prices and any deviations from them from the year 20111 to in the year 2017 and imposing a fine of 741.86 euros.

With reference to the company with the name SHOP & TRADE ANONYMOUS COMMERCIAL AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY FOR CLOTHING DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PROVISION: Violation of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU for the determination of resale prices, with the simultaneous application of a mechanism for monitoring the determined prices and any deviations of them from the year 2016 to the year 2017 and imposing a fine of 899.79 euros.

With reference to the company with the name SYMBOL HELLAS IMPORT COMPANY LIMITED: Violation of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU for determining resale prices, from the year 2011 to the year 2016 and imposition of a fine of 655.22 euros.

Regarding the company with the name ORIS SA: Violation of articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU for direct limitation of passive sales to resellers outside Greece and Cyprus, from the year 2014 to the year 2020 and imposition of a fine of 370, 80 euros.

Regarding the company with the name AMER SPORTS EXPORT GMBH: Violation of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU in determining resale prices of wristwatches against its wholesaler-distributor, from the year 2015 to the year 2017 and imposition of a fine amounting to 506.40 euros.

Furthermore, the EA obliged the aforementioned companies to cease the above violations, to the extent that they continue, and to refrain from them in the future, and threatened them with a fine if the decision of the EA confirms the continuation or repetition of the identified violations in the future.

For the rest, regarding the company with the name FOSSIL GROUP, the EA did not find a violation of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU. Further, she rejected the complaint of Kostarelos anonymous commercial and hotel company on her other allegations, and to the part of the “Rist Hellas Private Company IKE”, “Diesel HELLAS GOGKAS and SIA OE”, “THE SWATCH GROUP (GREECE) SA”, “SWATCH GROUP LTD”, “GAVRIEL M. APOSPORIS”, “CHRONORA P. KALLIGERIS ANONYMOS COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL COMPANY”, “TAG HEUER HEADQUARTERS BRANCH OF LVMH SWISS MANUFACTURE SA”, “LOTHMAN TRADING BV(OOZOO TIMEPIECES)”.