The electronics and technology group Samsung is contesting a fine that was refused by the Dutch regulator. It was last year that the company was fined almost 40 million euros for offering store-charged prices on Samsung TVs.
The Dutch regulator Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM) has already dismissed Samsung’s objection as unfounded. The latter can now challenge the fine in court. It is not yet known whether the company will do so. As part of its appeal, Samsung claims, among other things, that it does not always understand selling prices by eye.
According to the competition regulator, on the other hand, Samsung regularly determined the online selling prices of its televisions sold by seven items, between January 2013 and December 2018 inclusive. “Aligning the pricing behavior of the detailed in this way constitutes a prohibited anti-competitive practice. The attitude adopted by Samsung was like but to limit the competition’, asserts the ACM.
Online shops
During an investigation, the ACM discovered unauthorized practices by Samsung at retailers that offered the brand’s televisions in their online stores. If the selling prices they charged were lower than Samsung wanted, the company sent messages to sellers saying they were providing them to raise them. She presented this as advice to follow, but according to the market regulator, these were absolutely not non-binding messages. In addition, Samsung also intervened when retailers complained about competitors who marketed the brand’s televisions at a lower price.
The ACM discovered these prohibited business practices following complaints filed by retailers. Previously, the regulator had already taken the decision not to impose a fine on retailers who took part in the price influence. Like a ‘spider of the web’, Samsung clearly controlled the alignment of selling prices. “But all of this demonstrates that the detailed must exercise caution and that they can always oppose such actions.” The ACM has no evidence that Samsung has struck price deals over and over again.
The Dutch regulator Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM) has already dismissed Samsung’s objection as unfounded. The latter can now challenge the fine in court. It is not yet known whether the company will do so. As part of its appeal, Samsung claims, among other things, that it does not always understand selling prices by eye. According to the competition regulator, however, Samsung has regularly determined the online selling price of its televisions sold by seven retailers between January 2013 and December 2018 inclusive. “Aligning the pricing behavior of the detailed in this way constitutes a prohibited anti-competitive practice. Samsung’s attitude was “but to limit competition,” says ACM. the brand in their online stores. If the selling prices they charged were lower than Samsung wanted, the company sent messages to sellers saying they were providing them to raise them. She presented this as advice to follow, but according to the market regulator, these were absolutely not non-binding messages. In addition, Samsung also intervened when retailers complained about competitors who marketed the brand’s televisions at a lower price. The ACM discovered these prohibited business practices following complaints filed by retailers. Previously, the regulator had already taken the decision not to impose a fine on retailers who took part in the price influence. Like a ‘spider of the web’, Samsung clearly controlled the alignment of selling prices. “But all of this demonstrates that the detailed must exercise caution and that they can always oppose such actions.” The ACM has no evidence that Samsung has struck price deals over and over again.
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