• Have Kärcher products been overpriced for many years?
• President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Tomasz Chróstny initiated a preliminary investigation into the matter, while Office employees conducted a search at the premises of Kärcher.
• The suspicious activities involve imposing minimum resale prices on distributors of professional cleaning equipment and systems on the Internet.

UOKiK employees, accompanied by the Police, searched Kärcher's headquarters in Kraków. The enterprise is part of a group of companies manufacturing cleaning equipment and systems. The most recognised Kärcher products are pressure washers. The company's product range is divided into two product lines: "Home and garden" for individual customers and "Professional", which includes devices for professional use. Products from the "Home and garden" category are kept in yellowish colours, while professional products are grey.

The search was related to the investigation initiated by Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK. The information obtained by the Office indicates that Kärcher's professional line of products may be sold in violation of the competition rules. The President of UOKiK suspects that the company imposes minimum resale prices on its distributors of equipment on the Internet. Vendors who apply lower prices for products may be penalised by having their discounts revoked and, in extreme cases, having their cooperation agreements terminated.

"We suspect that there has been no possibility to purchase Kärcher's cleaning professional products and systems online at prices lower than the imposed ones for many years. Consequently, I decided to initiate an investigation and conduct a search, which has been approved by the court and received Police support. We collected over 2,000 e-mails and over 200 documents that may indicate the existence of an illegal agreement,"  says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

The preliminary investigation concerns the matter itself and is not directed against any particular entrepreneur. If the collected evidence confirms the suspicions, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection will initiate antitrust action and raise charges against particular entities. There is a penalty for participating in an agreement restricting competition of up to 10% of the turnover of the company. Managers responsible for entering into collusion may be fined up to PLN 2 million.

Severe sanctions can be avoided thanks to the leniency programme It provides entrepreneurs participating in an unlawful agreement and managers responsible for collusion with an opportunity to avoid fines or have them reduced. This is an option available on the condition of cooperating with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection as the "key witness" and providing evidence of, or information about, the existence of an unlawful agreement. Entrepreneurs and managers interested in the leniency programme are invited to contact the Office. At a dedicated telephone number 22 55 60 555, the lawyers of the Office answer all questions regarding leniency applications, including anonymous ones.

We would like to remind you that the Office also runs a programme of acquiring information from anonymous whistleblowers. Visit https://konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/ and fill out a simple form. The European system we use guarantees full anonymity, also towards the Office.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL