The Korean Fair Trade Commission has fined The North Face 5.2 billion won (approximate $4.6 million) for its unfair business practices. The FTC’s investigation determined that The North Face had limited retailers’ ability to offer its jackets at discounts. The FTC found that Goldwin Korea, The North Face’s exclusive Korean importer, imposed the same discount rate at its 151 retail locations. Moreover, retailers had to keep prices 10 to 15 percent higher than those of competing labels to maintain its premium reputation in Korea. Those retailers that did not comply saw supply suspended, contracts nullified, or even fines.
The North Face’s fine is the highest handed down by the FTC for the practice of limiting retailers’ ability to discount prices.
Full content: Korea Herald
Related content: (Minimum) Resale Price Maintenance Under the New Guidelines: A Critique and A Suggestion (Yves Botteman & Kees Jan Kuilwijk, Steptoe & Johnson)
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Google Requests Judge, Not Jury, to Decide on Antitrust Case
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Apple Faces Contempt Hearings Over App Store Reforms
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
T-Mobile Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Sprint Merger After Appeal Denied
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
Google Faces Backlash Over Introduction of AI-Generated Summaries in Searches
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
CMA Launches Phase 2 Probe into AlphaTheta’s Acquisition of Serato
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI