• Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK, will examine whether three retail chains can apply contractual advantage towards suppliers of agri-food products.
• There are reservations about some of the fees charged from counterparties by Żabka Polska, Dino Polska, and Transgourmet Polska – the owner of Selgors Cash & Carry.
• Earlier, preliminary investigations were launched into the practices of Auchan Polska and Carrefour.

The President of UOKiK is currently conducting market research to determine, among others, whether the terms of services provided by retail chains to suppliers of agri-food products constitute an abuse of contractual advantage. The services under consideration consist in providing suppliers with various services related to the sale of goods, e.g. marketing or logistics. In exchange, the store charges various sale-related fees.

The first preliminary investigations based on the findings of this research concerned Carrefour and Auchan Polska. In subsequent proceedings, the President of UOKiK will examine the practices of Żabka Polska, Dino Polska, and Transgourmet Polska (the owner of Selgros Cash & Carry). The last two enterprises charge the suppliers of agri-food products for the transport of products from the chain’s central warehouses to its individual stores. However, the central goods distribution system is an integral part of the business model of retail chains and they should cover organisation costs on their own. Therefore, charging specific logistics fees may place an unreasonable burden on counterparties. In addition, the scope of some of the services provided by the three companies to suppliers may be defined in a vague manner.

- It is unacceptable that suppliers must pay for activities which form an integral part of the chain’s operations or that they don’t know what activities specifically will be carried out by a major counterparty on their behalf. Such practices may constitute an abuse of contractual advantage. We are checking whether this is the case with Żabka Polska, Dino Polska, and Transgourmet Polska – says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

Preliminary investigations are conducted in the case and not against the enterprises. If it is found during the course of these proceedings that the practices under consideration may constitute an abuse of contractual advantage, the President of UOKiK may bring charges against the entrepreneurs. Retail chain organisers could then face a penalty of up to 3% of their annual turnover. In November 2021, the President of the Office imposed a fine of PLN 76 million on Eurocash for similar practices. In addition, UOKiK is drawing up a report on fees for services provided by retail chains to suppliers of agri-food products.

Entrepreneur, farmer, if you operate in the agri-food industry and your major counterparty abuses its competitive advantage by imposing unfavourable conditions of cooperation – report it to UOKiK. We have launched a special form to assist you in reporting irregularities – thanks to the information obtained through the form, we can deal with abuses of dishonest entrepreneurs from the market more efficiently. You can fill it out here: https://ankieta.uokik.gov.pl/formularz-zgloszenie-przewaga/.

Additional information for the media:

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