Austrian Cartel Court upholds fine on coffee maker De’Longhi Kenwood for resale price maintenance, territorial restraints, and internet sales restrictions

• 21/02/2017
• Articles

On 20 February 2017, the Austrian Cartel Court (“Court”) imposed a fine of €650,000 on home appliance manufacturer De’Longhi Kenwood (“De’Longhi”) for restrictions in relation to the resale of coffee machines on the Austrian market in breach of both Section 1 of the Austrian Cartel Law (“KartG”) and Article 101 TFEU. The Court held that, between January 2006 and September 2015, De’Longhi restricted both online sales and cross-border sales of coffee makers, in addition to fixing resale prices with multiple retailers. The agreements involved setting a uniform minimum selling price for retailers, which De’Longhi then regularly monitored, and contacting retailers who diverged from the set prices, either by telephone or e-mail. As retailers were aware that a uniform minimum price had been set, the Court likened the practice to a horizontal cartel.

The FCA had conducted inspections at De’Longhi’s premises in September 2015, on the same day that De’Longhi applied for leniency. While the inspection only covered the coffee machine business, De’Longhi disclosed additional information concerning price-fixing agreements relating to several other household appliances. The fine imposed by the Court reflected a 40% fine reduction which De’Longhi was granted for cooperating during the investigation. While the Court held that De’Longhi’s conduct affected the Austrian market not only for coffee machines, but also for kitchen, household and electrical appliances, the fine only covered conduct that affected the coffee maker sector.