[en] The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) recently imposed the highest fine ever in history of Belgian competition law enforcement for a ‘hub&spoke’ cartel in the supply and retail sector of drugstore, perfumery, and hygiene (DPH) products.
Seven supermarkets had indirectly coordinated end-consumer price increases for branded DPH products by exchanging information through the suppliers, who knowingly provided support to the cartel as intermediaries and facilitators of the cartel.
In its settlement decision, the BCA ultimately failed to base the finding of an infringement by settlement decision on established competition law principles.
Precision for document type :
Analysis of case law/Statutory reports
Disciplines :
Economic & commercial law
Author, co-author :
Mattioli, Evi ; Université de Liège > Département de droit > Département de droit
Language :
English
Title :
The Belgian supermarkets 'hub&spoke' settlement decision
See V Thirion, 'The Belgian DPH Hub & Spoke Case as seen by the BCA', presentation at the BSC Morning Briefing on 8 September 2015
V Thirion, 'Lessons for future settlements after DPH and National Lottery cases', presentation at BSC Conference on 21 October 2015.
See O Odudu, 'Indirect Information Exchange: The Constituent Elements of Hub and Spoke Collusion' (2011) 7:2 European Competition Journal 205-242.
see P Van Cayseele, 'Hub-and-Spoke Collusion: Some Nagging Questions Raised by Economists' (2014) 5:3 Journal of European Competition Law & Practice 164-168.
N Sahuguet and A Walckiers, 'Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracies: The Vertical Expression of a Horizontal Desire?' September 2014, available at www.ssrn.com, last accessed 29 December 2015.
Dole Food Company v Commission, Case C-286/13P, ECLI:EU:C:2015:184, para. 127.
The CCP refers to the judgment in AC-Treuhand v Commission, Case T-99/04, EU:T:2008:256.
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