PARIS, April 16 (Reuters) - France's antitrust watchdog fined four organic food wholesalers, including one owned by Carrefour, a combined 12.7 million euros ($14.96 million) for colluding to fix their
France Imposes €12.7 Million Fine on Organic Food Wholesalers for Price-Fixing
French Antitrust Watchdog Penalizes Organic Food Wholesalers
Overview of the Fine and Companies Involved
PARIS, April 16 (Reuters) - France's antitrust watchdog fined four organic food wholesalers, including one owned by Carrefour, a combined 12.7 million euros ($14.96 million) for colluding to fix their product prices over a seven-year period up to 2024.
Details of the Collusion
The companies set up a "unique, complex and continuous agreement" to separate organic food product brands sold in specialized organic stores and regular supermarkets to prevent price comparison, which would have led to a general price decrease in organic stores, Autorite de la Concurrence said in a statement on Thursday.
The collusion happened as sales of organic food products expanded in France, mainly in supermarkets.
Fines Imposed on Each Company
Synadis Bio was fined 10 million euros, while Carrefour's Greenweez was fined 1.85 million euros, ITM Enterprises, which operates Intermarche supermarkets, was ordered to pay 740,000 euros, and Les Comptoirs de la Bio, 80,000 euros.
The four companies fined did not immediately respond to requests for comment. They can appeal the decision in court.
Background and Impact of the Agreement
Origins of the Price-Fixing Arrangement
The agreement started in 2017, the statement said, quoting board meeting transcripts from Synadis Bio in reaction to the sale of products sold by Bio C Bon supermarkets on internet retail giant Amazon.
"This represents a new and worrying competing activity for specialized organic stores because it blurs the lines between distribution channels and promotes price comparability," Synadis Bio's board said at the time, according to the watchdog.
Implementation and Consequences
Synadis Bio proceeded into sealing agreements with different wholesalers to keep different brands in the different kinds of stores, the watchdog said.
"The Authority considers this practice to be serious insofar as it has undeniably limited intra-brand and inter-brand competition, as well as price competition, between the two distribution channels," the statement said.
Overall sales of organic food products quadrupled between 2010 and 2020, while specialized organic stores' market share fell by 5 percentage points.
Exchange Rate Information
($1 = 0.8488 euros)
(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Susan Fenton)
