The Competition Council has sanctioned 25 companies on the retail

The Competition Council has sanctioned 25 companies on the retail food market
The Competition Council has sanctioned 25 companies on the retail food market (4
retailers and 21 suppliers) with fines totaling 154,029,538 lei (approx. 35 million
Euro). The sanctions were applied within the investigation on agreement to fix
prices between Metro, Real, Selgros, Mega Image and their suppliers during 20052009.
Further to investigation, the companies were sanctioned both for fixing the reselling
prices (at shelf) and for the companies behavior during the promotions.
The Competition Council found that the selling prices at shelf were not set according
to the market rules depending on supply and demand, but the supplier and retailers
were setting a fixed or a minimum price. This kind of practice leads to higher prices
for the end consumer, the retailer could not decrease the price set together with
the supplier.
As concerns the behavior of companies during the promotions, the contracts or
contractual documents between some retailers and suppliers contained a clause
providing that the suppliers could not make simultaneous promotions in other retail
chains and it could only alternate. In this way, the end consumers could not have
access to promotions in the same time and implicitly to the lowest price in
competing stores. The decision to make or not promotions must belong to supplier.
The sanctioned companies are as follows:
1. Mega Image SRL – 24.569.530 lei (5,6 million Euro)
2. Metro Cash&Carry Romania SRL– 49.684.182 lei (11,3 million Euro)
3. Real Hypermarket Romania SRL–23.869.142 lei (5,5 million Euro )
4. Selgros Cash&Carry Romania SRL– 29.202.355 lei (6,6 million Euro )
5. Agroalim Distribution SRL– 607.214 lei (138.000 euro)
6. Albalact SA– 2.199.507 lei (499.888 euro)
7. Argus SA– 623.106 lei (141.615 euro)
8. Covalact SA – 659.267 lei (149.833 euro)
9. Cramele Halewood SA – 278.694 lei (63.340 euro)
10.Danone PDPA SRL– 2.639.243 lei (599.828 euro)
11.De Silva Intermed SRL – 31.753 lei (7.217 euro)
12.Delaco Distribution SA– 910.047 lei (206.829 euro)
13.Gerola Prodinvest SRL – 308.923 lei (70.210 euro)
14.Granddis SRL – 327.157 lei (74.354 euro)
15.Impex Bock SRL –5.751 lei (1.307 euro)
16.Macromex SRL– 2.354.190 lei (535.043 euro)
17.Napolact SA– 1.164.467 lei (264.652 euro)
18.Parmalat Romania SA – 269.852 lei (61.330 euro)
19.Prodlacta SA – 166.122 lei (37.755 euro)
20.Quadrant-Amroq Beverages SRL –3.193.541 lei (725.805 euro)
21.Star Foods EM SRL – 1.953.160 lei (443.900 euro)
22.Transilvania General Import Export SRL – 4.693.436 lei (1,1 milioane euro)
23.Tymbark Maspex Romania SRL – 1.646.923 lei (374.301 euro)
24.Whiteland Import Export SRL – 2.324.484 lei (528. 292 euro)
25.Zarea SA – 347.489 lei (78. 975 euro).
We recall that at the end of 2014, the Competition Council has opened a new
investigation on possible infringement of the European and national competition
rules by other companies active on the Romanian retail food market namely Auchan
Romania SA, Carrefour Romania SA, Romania Hypermarche SA (Cora), Kaufland
Romania SCS and their suppliers. During the investigation, the Competition Council
has conducted unannounced inspections, the documents gathered during these
inspections being under analysis of the Romanian competition authority according
to specific investigation procedures.
Also, at the end of 2014, the Government has approved the Memorandum on
establishing a monitoring system of consumer goods prices, respectively "The
Monitor of consumer goods prices".
The Project will be implemented by the Romanian Association for Consumer
Protection (APC) with the support of the National Authority for Consumer Protection
(ANPC) and the Competition Council, and supposes the creation of an on-line
platform to display weekly the prices of consumer goods included in daily consumer
basket. The objectives are on the one hand to help the consumers to compare
prices and find stores where they can buy basic food at lowest prices and on the
other hand to inform them on the price decrease due to increased competition
between stores.
These actions of the Competition Council are part of the European trend on paying
more attention to retail food sector. In 2013, the Austrian competition authority has
fined Rewe group for agreements with a group of suppliers to fix the selling prices,
the discounted prices and to set the exclusive intervals for promotions. Another
investigation on retail food market is ongoing at the German competition authority.
January 2015
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