• The Dino Polska supermarket chain took over some of the Domex-Kuśnierek assets without consent.
• The Office imposed a fine on the company.
• The fine totalled PLN 100,000.

On December 21 last year, the owner of Dino notified UOKiK of its intention to purchase some of the Domex-Kuśnierek assets, namely 12 stores. In the application, the company announced that the transaction would be carried out in three stages, i.e.: (1) purchasing the real estate, (2) leasing it to Domex-Kuśnierek and (3) taking over tangible and intangible assets of the stores having obtained the consent from the President of UOKiK.

The Office decided that on the day of filing the application, Dino Polska had already owned 12 stores run by Domex-Kuśnierek based on a lease agreement. The stores were located in: Koźminek, Rudna, Nowe Miasteczko, Grębocice, Siedlec, Gołaszyn, Osieczna, Lipno, Żerków, Jutrosin, Prusice and Krzywiń. Furthermore, Dino shaped the prices of goods and the terms of delivery and sale based on a franchise agreement.

The Dino Polska chain acquired these stores without UOKiK’s prior consent. The Office imposed a fine in the amount of PLN 100,000 on the company for breaking the competition law.

Pursuant to legal regulations, a transaction must be reported to UOKiK if it involves enterprises with total turnover for the previous year that exceeded EUR 1 billion in the world or EUR 50 million in Poland. A fine for failure to notify the intention of concentration is up to 10% of the company’s turnover reached in the year preceding the decision passing. Carrying out the concentration transaction without the consent granted by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection violates the provisions of the Antitrust Act.

The company may appeal to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Additional information for the media:
UOKiK Press Office
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