Ski equipment wholesaler, Fordex, fixed prices with the Intersport store network. The former had to pay a penalty of more than PLN 72K while the latter (thanks to the leniency programme) avoided the financial penalty.

The pact involved ski equipment and accessories made by Nordica. Fordex is the sole distributor in Poland, and Intersport one of the retailers.

The information obtained by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) demonstrates that they agreed on minimum selling prices across Intersport stores. This meant that consumers could not buy the equipment and accessories made by Nordica cheaper there. Price agreements were made e.g. orally, at the sporting gear trade fair in Munich, and also by e-mail.

The pact lasted at least five years, from 2007 to 2012. The UOKiK obtained information about price fixing e.g. after inspecting the premises of one of the entrepreneurs and directly from Intersport which decided to co-operate with UOKiK under the leniency programme). The programme enables the entrepreneur which was involved in the pact and which provided evidence on the existence of an anti-competitive agreement to the Office to be completely relieved of the financial penalty as long as the entrepreneur did not persuade other entrepreneurs to join the agreement and ceased the illicit activities.

This was the case with Intersport, therefore the UOKiK did not impose a financial penalty on the entrepreneur, which would otherwise have cost the entrepreneur more than PLN 312K – had the entrepreneur not applied for the leniency programme. Conversely, Fordex suffered a financial penalty of more than PLN 72K (PLN 72,344.67). The decision is not valid yet. The party may appeal against the decision to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.

- The decision demonstrates that reporting to the UOKiK and informing us about the entrepreneur’s involvement in an unlawful agreement can financially benefit the entrepreneur. The answers to all questions (even anonymous) concerning the leniency programme can be obtained from the UOKiK by calling: 22 55 60 555 – says Marek Niechciał, UOKiK President.

Leniency is also available for enterprise managers. Please note that the UOKiK may impose financial penalties not only on entrepreneurs but also individuals involved e.g. in price-fixing, anti-competitive market sharing and unlawful agreements on limiting production. Financial penalties may even be as high as PLN 2 million. The UOKiK also runs the leniency plus programme. This enables the entrepreneur or manager that files an application for additional reduction of penalty by 30 per cent as the second or subsequent entity in the case concerned if they notify the UOKiK of another unlawful agreement in which they were involved. In the latter case, the entrepreneur or the manager will enjoy the status of the first applicant and avoid the financial penalty.

Additional information:

The Press Office of the UOKiK
pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Tel.: 22 55 60 430, 55 60 345
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl

Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL