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Irish Appliance Maker Probed Over Alleged Price-Fixing Practices

By  |  January 20, 2026

A manufacturer of small electrical appliances is under investigation by Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) over suspected anticompetitive pricing behavior, according to Bloomberg. The inquiry centers on concerns that the company may have been involved in arrangements that limited how products were priced at retail level.

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    The CCPC said the probe relates to suspected resale price maintenance, a practice in which a supplier attempts to dictate the prices charged by distributors or retailers. Such arrangements can reduce competition and ultimately disadvantage consumers, per Bloomberg. The watchdog has not disclosed the name of the manufacturer involved in the case.

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    As part of the investigation, the Irish authority has been working with international counterparts. The CCPC confirmed it received assistance from Germany’s competition regulator, the Bundeskartellamt, reflecting the cross-border nature of the suspected conduct, according to Bloomberg.

    The investigation is being conducted under the CCPC’s expanded competition enforcement powers, which took effect in September 2023. These powers allow the regulator to pursue cases through an administrative enforcement regime, under which independent adjudication officers can impose financial penalties on businesses found to have breached competition law. The updated framework also gives the CCPC authority to carry out dawn raids with a District Court warrant, compel witness testimony, examine individuals under oath, and seize physical and electronic records relevant to an investigation.

    Read more: South Korea to Sharply Raise Fines for Price-Fixing and Unfair Trade Practices

    The watchdog outlined specific enforcement actions already taken in the case. “As part of its investigation, the CCPC conducted an unannounced inspection at the premises of an Irish-based distributor in June 2025,” the CCPC said in relation to the small appliances probe. It added: “In collaboration with the German competition authority (Bundeskartellamt), an unannounced inspection was also carried out at the premises of a manufacturer located in Germany in November 2025.”

    Officers from the CCPC assisted their German counterparts during the inspection in Germany. The investigation remains ongoing, and the regulator has emphasized that no findings have yet been made against the parties involved.

    Source: Independent