Dutch ACM fines Samsung almost €40 million for resale price maintenance

Published

Oct 12 2021

Written By

Pauline Kuipers

Partner
Netherlands

I am a partner in our NL office, based in The Hague, where I was one of its founding lawyers in 2001.

Tialda Beetstra

Senior Associate
Netherlands

As senior associate in our Competition & EU Law and Regulatory Groups in The Hague, I specialise in regulatory disputes and administrative law, with a focus on the technology, communications and energy & utilities sectors.

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The Dutch competition authority ACM fined Samsung Electronics Benelux B.V. (“Samsung”) € 39,875,500 for coordinating the retail prices of Samsung television sets together with various retailers. The alleged coordination took place for five years, from January 2013 through December 2018. The ACM only published a summary of the decision dated 14 September 2021 thus far, but this already provides an insight into the conduct and reasoning of the ACM to impose the fine.

This is the first time the ACM has imposed a fine in relation to resale price maintenance (“RPM”). RPM still constitutes a hardcore restriction in light of the cartel prohibition (as laid down in Article 6 Dutch Competition Act and Article 101 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).[1] RPM concerns agreements or concerted practices having as their direct or indirect object the establishment of a fixed or minimum resale price or a fixed or minimum price level to be observed by the buyer.

This article was originally published on Kluwer Competition Law Blog, read the full article here

For more information, please contact Pauline Kuipers or Tialda Beetstra

[1] See also the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (EU) No 330/2010, Article 4(a); Guidelines on Vertical Restraints, 2010/C 130/01, paras 48, 223-229.