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> Does this imply that any retailer in the EU has a legal right to sell goods at any price? Generally speaking? Yes. But there are a whole lot of exceptions t
by Aloisius 8y ago
> Does this imply that any retailer in the EU has a legal right to sell goods at any price?
Generally speaking? Yes.
But there are a whole lot of exceptions to that. Books in most EU countries have a price fixed by the publisher. Predatory pricing is illegal.
> If I'm a retailer reselling Asus or Phillips products at cost in order to gain market share, how is that not anti-competitive behavior as well?
It can be considered predatory pricing if competitors can't sustain equal prices without going out of business and you can raise prices later.
> Does this mean that under this EU ruling, that Amazon could sue Wusthof for attempting to "block" its supply of Wusthof goods?
The anticompetitive nature and legality of vertical restraints (single supplier to retailer) aren't quite as clear-cut as horizontal ones (multiple suppliers or distributors or retailers between themselves).
Manufacturers have been allowed a certain amount of control over their distribution agreements like requiring enforcement of Minimum Advertised Pricing or quality standards for retailers, but each situation is analyzed on a case-by-case basis to the effects of the ban and if there is legitimate justification.
- TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago> It can be considered predatory pricing if competitors can't sustain equal prices without going out of business and you can raise prices later. Isn't this the tech-VC model? Create a "new" product (same as the old product but ignore regulation), burn venture capital till the traditional players fold, profit. Okay, I'm thinking specifically of Uber. But stil...
- zaarn 8y agoBasically yes. That kind of stuff, atleast in Germany, is frowned upon. Competing on the market on pure merit is preferred. However, it doesn't mean that if you can do it cheaper that's disallowed, quite the opposite. If you can do it cheaper it's explicitly encouraged and that's what these policies try to encourage. What they discourage, is as you say, burn money to drive out other players, then run at the same price as the previous players. It's also somewhat why the EU fined google, at least in part, because Google's behavior did not allow phone vendors to compete on their merit in the market by being unable to offer alternative Android variants if they want Google's variant. It's a different free market philosophy than the US free market similarly to how other philosophies (like Freedom of Speech) work different in the EU.
- moviuro 8y ago> > Does this imply that any retailer in the EU has a legal right to sell goods at any price? > Generally speaking? Yes. In France, you're not allowed to re-sell goods at a loss if you're a business, outside of the "Sales" (Summer, Winter, and now more). So Fnac, Boulanger, etc. can't fix prices any lower than they actually bought it from their supplier. See https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vente_%C3%A0_perte https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vente_%C3%A0_perte