Eastern High Court upholds fine of DKK 1 million for resale price maintenance
On 10 December 2019 the Eastern High Court ruled to uphold the Court in Næstved’s judgment whereby hair product wholesaler ICON Hairspa A/S was fined DKK 1,000,000 and a senior employee of the company was fined DKK 100,000.
Eastern High Court judgment of 10 December 2019
by assistant attorney Andreas Riis Madsen
Background
The case concerned hair product wholesaler ICON Hairspa A/S, which had required the resellers of certain hair products to maintain fixed minimum resale prices. The case began in 2016 when the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority was contacted by a distributor. The Danish Competition Council chose to report the matter to the State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime, which eventually brought charges against ICON Hairspa A/S and a senior employee. The Court in Næstved passed judgment in February 2019.
The High Court's decision
The Eastern High Court has now upheld the judgment by the Court in Næstved, confirming that this was indeed a so-called “restriction by object” and that the infringement had been committed wilfully. The fines, at DKK 1,000,000 for ICON Hairspa A/S and DKK 100,000 for the senior employee, were therefore held to be adequate.
In relation to the amounts of the fines, the High Court referred to the facts to which the Court in Næstved had also attached importance, namely that resale price maintenance is a severe infringement of competition law; that the infringement had persisted for about a year; and the size of ICON Hairspa A/S’s revenue.
Contact
