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Germany: Antitrust agency fines Lego

By  |  February 1, 2016

The German federal competition watchdog authority, the Bundeskartellamt, has fined the Lego Group’s German subsidiary, Lego GmbH, 130,000 euros, or roughly $142,000, for non-compliance with competition legislation, Lego officials say.

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    The Danish toy maker’s North American headquarters are in Enfield. Lego Group Chief Financial Officer John Goodwin said in a statement his company accepts the agency’s decision.

    Lego initiated an investigation after receiving information from the Bundeskartellamt in February 2014, Goodwin said.

    The investigation by a law firm found that employees on the German sales staff had violated Lego’s guidelines in a “limited number” of incidents in 2012 and 2013. The incidents involved a small number of retailers and about 20 Lego products, Goodwin said.

    The investigation determined that there was “no impact on the general consumer price level” because of the limited scope, he said.

    Lego fired the responsible employees and initiated an “extensive update” to its training on competition compliance, he said.

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