Children's and baby equipment manufacturer accepts a DKK 8 million penalty notice for resale price maintenance and restriction of online sales
On 23 February 2022, the company HTS Besafe accepted a DKK 8 million penalty notice for infringement of the prohibition of anti-competitive agreements during a continuous period of more than five years.
HTS Besafe, a branch of HTS Besafe AS in Norway, is a manufacturer of children's and baby equipment, including the so-called "Voksi" sleeping bags as well as car safety seats. The background for the penalty notice is that HTS Besafe in the period from early 2015 to late 2020 entered into agreements with various retailers on resale price maintenance and re-strictions on online sales of certain products/product lines in the retailers' web shops thereby infringing Section 6 of the Dan-ish Competition Act and Article 101 TFEU.
In determining the amount of the penalty notice, the Competition Council had regard to the severity and duration of the in-fringement as well as the company's consolidated turnover. There were mitigating circumstances, however, namely that HTS Besafe had an internal competition law compliance policy and had also been cooperative in investigating the case.
This case is yet another important reminder of the importance of having an internal competition law compliance programme, which the organisation actively adheres to and works on.
Read the penalty notice (In Danish)
Read the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority’s press release about the penalty notice (In Danish)
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