Brussels (AFP)
The European Commission opened on Monday an investigation into a possible collusion between the two major French distributors, Casino and Les Mousquetaires ("Intermarché"), which would violate EU competition rules.
The EU executive is concerned that Casino and Intermarché, which had a joint procurement center called INCAA between November 2014 and summer 2018, have inter alia coordinated their pricing policies towards consumers, which would infringe the right to competition.
It is common for large distribution groups to enter into purchasing partnership agreements in the food and non-food sectors in order to benefit from a volume effect when negotiating their purchasing terms with suppliers. .
To the extent that these benefits are passed on to consumers (such as lowering prices or improving the quality of products or services for consumers), alliances between large distributors can have a positive effect, says the Commission.
However, alliances can also pose competition concerns, especially when multiple contacts between major distributors can get them to agree on their retail activities, she adds.
In concrete terms, they can thus agree on the distribution of their store network as well as on consumer prices.
It is precisely on this aspect that the Commission's investigation is concerned. There is no legal deadline for closing this survey. Its duration depends on various factors, including the complexity of the case and the degree of cooperation with the Commission of the companies in question.
Asked by AFP, a spokeswoman for Casino said the group "will exercise its rights of defense and of course cooperate with the various services of the Commission."
Intermarché has not commented yet.
In February 2017 and May 2019, the Commission carried out unannounced inspections at the Casino and Intermarché premises, which led it to open this formal investigation.
© 2019 AFP