EU Looks Into Tax-Free Airport Shopping

Swiss payments company Global Blue is facing a formal antitrust complaint before EU regulators over allegations that it is breaking competition law by signing exclusive contracts with merchants aimed at excluding rivals. 

Rival Refundit has accused Global Blue of sharing its commission with high-end retailers with the aim of signing deals that exclude rivals, as well as a lack of transparency over the fees it charges customers. 

Global Blue, which offers tax refunds for travellers on luxury goods, went public last year through a special acquisition vehicle. Its backers include US private equity group Silver Lake. Refundit alleges the commissions Global Blue charges are “excessive, unfair and opaque” and that they are designed to maintain a dominant position in the market. 

“Global Blue’s merchant commission and free services offered to key merchants are predatory and its pricing strategy aims at deterring new entrants and disciplining the market, strengthening even further the economies of scale benefiting the dominant player, Global Blue,” said the complaint, filed with the EU’s competition unit in Brussels late on Monday, April 19.

Refundit alleges that Global Blue shares part of the service fees it charges consumers with many of its 300,000 partner stores in return for long-term exclusivity agreements. The startup also alleges that Global Blue isn’t transparent about its fee structure.

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