Europe — In a surprising development, several ski brands are under investigation for alleged antitrust breaches.
Blick reports that the European Union (EU) is investigating a couple of ski brands over alleged price fixing. What reportedly happened is that the EU unexpectedly conducted searches at ski manufacturing facilities. The companies involved in the investigation include Blizzard, Atomic, and Fischer. Two of these three ski brands are owned by larger companies that also own other ski brands. Amer Brands owns Atomic, and the Technica Group owns Blizzard.
These inspections were formally announced by the European Commission (the executive branch of the EU) last month, but didn’t list any of the companies that were inspected. However, news outlets have since been able to connect the dots.
What Is Price Fixing?
Let’s see if I remember anything from my economics classes. Price fixing is defined as an agreement between a series of companies to fix their prices at a certain level. This reduces competition between brands, resulting in price hikes for consumers.
Some historical examples of this include the tuna industry in 2018, airline pricing in Australia, and the Dutch beer industry in 2007. In particular, the Dutch beer price-fixing investigation was conducted by the European Commission. According to Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, there’s a ban on cartels and business practices that reduce competition.
While these inspections occurred, the European Union states that an investigation does not necessarily mean they’re guilty of committing a crime.
“The company is convinced that it has always acted in full compliance with applicable laws and immediately offered its full cooperation to the authorities involved,” said the Technica Group.
Image/Video Credits: Tory Hoffman, Competition and Markets Authority
