• For 6 years, the Merida company prohibited its distributors to sell bikes online.
• As a result, the market has been divided and consumers’ capabilities have been limited only to choosing the nearest traditional stores.
• President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny has imposed nearly PLN 2.5 million fine on the company.

Merida Polska is the exclusive distributor of the Merida bikes in Poland. The sales are performed via a well-developed network of distributors running traditional and/or online stores. UOKIK has found that in the years 2014-2020 the company had prohibited its distributors to sell online. A store offering bikes in a traditional shop could only present Merida products on its website and provide a functionality to place orders remotely. Following the rules implemented by Merida, no on-line transaction could have been completed and no goods could have been dispatched to customers. A customer wishing to collect their bike had to visit a traditional store. Moreover, Merida prohibited to its distributors to sell bikes via auction websites. Thus, the arrangements among Merida and its distributors actually aimed at a full prohibition to sell bikes of this brand via the Internet.

- The rules of selling bikes imposed by Merida Polska have resulted in restricting competition among distributors and have caused market division among the dealers. For consumers, it equaled no capacity to take advantage of a more profitable online offer which might have resulted in higher prices for products offered. The anti-competitive agreement initiated and arranged by Merida Polska has constituted a material breach of Polish and EU competition rules - says President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny.

The Merida Polska-developed rules on cooperation with dealers included a prohibition to conduct mail-ordered sales via their own websites and external sales platforms while its violation could have resulted in cancelling the agreement. The restriction of online sales has caused the actual, territorial market division. Internet does not introduce any geographical limits. Regardless of the consumer’s place of residence, a number of distributors should have an opportunity to compete for them via e-commerce. However, if the customer knew that they had to collect their bike in a traditional store, they would not take account of the offer given by distributors to whom they would need to cover long distance which has materially restricted competition among dealers. As a consequence, the competition-breaching market division and the customer’s “attachment” to the traditional store have been enhanced. 

For anti-competitive practices on the domestic bike-selling market, the Merida Polska company has been fined by President of UOKiK with the amount of PLN 2,445,329. The decision is not final and may be appealed against to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.

If you are aware of any illegal agreements at your former or present workplace, please report them to UOKiK. The Authority offers a programme allowing it to acquire information from anonymous whistle-blowers. Visit konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl and use a simple form. The pan-European system we rely on guarantees full anonymity, also towards the Authority’s staff.

Entrepreneurs and managers interested in the leniency scheme are encouraged to contact UOKiK. By calling +48 22 55 60 555, you will be able to talk to UOKiK lawyers, who will answer all of your questions, also anonymous ones, related to leniency applications. 

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