• The President of UOKiK has initiated antitrust proceedings against Dell Sp. z o.o.
• The entrepreneur may have concluded a competition-restricting agreement with its authorised dealers and distributors.
• This is subject to a fine of up to 10 percent of the entrepreneur’s annual turnover.

The concerns of the President of UOKiK are based on practices related to the sale of Dell and Dell EMC brands IT infrastructure products to professional customers.

- We suspect that there was an unauthorised market agreement in which Dell allocated orders from companies and institutions to specific resellers-distributors who wanted to purchase equipment from Dell for resale purposes. As a result, potential customers may have been deprived of the possibility of choosing a cheaper offer of Dell and Dell EMC products,” says the President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny.

Dell's sales system

Dell does not sell its products independently. Its distribution system is based on a network of trading partners (authorised distributors). If one of them reports a potential transaction with the customer in the internal registration system, Dell may prevent other distributors from submitting competitive price offers to the same customer, even at express request thereof.

As a result, companies and institutions could have been deprived of the possibility of choosing the entity from which they wish to buy Dell and Dell EMC brands equipment, even if another distributor wanted to sell them products cheaper.

Competition-restricting agreements between entities at different levels of trade, such as manufacturer and its product distributors, are prohibited under competition protection law. In the case of Dell and distributors thereof, the President of UOKiK suspects that there may have been market sharing. In particular, the competition-restricting agreement may have consisted in restricting potential passive sales to entities which requested themselves a quote from a Dell distributor.

Dell faces a penalty of up to 10% of its annual turnover for antitrust practices.

Severe sanctions can be avoided by taking advantage of the leniency scheme. It offers the enterprise involved in an illegal agreement and the managers responsible for the collusion an opportunity to reduce a fine or, in some cases, avoid it altogether. Entrepreneurs and managers interested in the leniency programme are encouraged to contact UOKiK. By calling a dedicated number: 22 55 60 555, you will be able to talk to UOKiK lawyers, who will answer all of your questions related to leniency applications - including those asked anonymously.

We would also like to remind you that UOKiK runs a programme of acquiring information from anonymous whistle-blowers. Visit https://konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/ and fill out a simple form. The system we use guarantees full anonymity, which includes anonymity from UOKiK itself.

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