The European Commission opened a formal investigation into anti-competitive practices on Monday 4 November to determine whether two French supermarket groups, Casino Guichard-Perrachon (‘Casino’) and Les Mousquetaires (‘Intermarché’), have coordinated their behaviour on the market in violation of EU competition rules.
Specifically, the Commission suspects that the two French brands have coordinated their consumer pricing policies through their joint purchasing centre.
Margrethe Vestager, Competition Commissioner, said that purchasing alliances have become essential for large retail chains. They make it possible to offer lower prices for the food and hygiene branded products that consumers buy every day. “Such benefits can however disappear quickly if retailers use these alliances to collude on their sales activities”, she says. Therefore, the Commission’s investigation will aim to determine whether Casino and Intermarché have coordinated their activities in an anticompetitive manner.
In 2014, Casino and Intermarché created INCA, a joint venture for the joint procurement alliance of their branded products.
The Commission is concerned that Casino and Intermarché have gone beyond the purpose of their alliance and have engaged in anticompetitive behaviour. In particular, the Commission will investigate whether Casino and Intermarché have coordinated their activities on the development of their shop networks and their pricing policies towards consumers. If proven, this coordination potentially constitutes an infringement of the rules on anticompetitive agreements between companies. The Commission will now conduct an in-depth investigation as a matter of priority. It points out that the opening of a formal investigation procedure does not prejudge its outcome. There is no time limit for closing this type of investigation.
The Commission has already carried out unannounced inspections at Casino and Intermarché premises concerning possible collusion between large distributors (see EUROPE 12260/24). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)