A PYMNTS Company

Poland Watchdog Fines Supermarket Chain Biedronk

By  |  December 14, 2020

Poland’s antimonopoly watchdog (UOKiK) fined the owner of the country’s largest food retailer Biedronka, Jeronimo Martins Polska, 723 million zlotys (US$197.94 million) on Monday for unfairly reaping profits at the cost of its suppliers, reported Reuters.

Suppliers were only notified of required discounts after contracts had been signed, supplies provided and payments made, UOKiK said in a statement, in violation of good practices and legal requirements.

“This leads to unexpected price drops for the suppliers, a drop in profits and margins and therefore makes business planning significantly more difficult,” the competition watchdog said in a statement on its website.

Jeronimo Martins Polska earned more than 600 million zlotys from the questionable practices over the last three years, the competition watchdog stated, and the practices affected over 200 companies, most of which were fruit and vegetable suppliers.

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.