Switzerland: Luxury watch parts supplier asks antitrust authorities for help in downsizing
As supplies for luxury watch manufacturers dwindle in the market, market leader Swatch Group – which holds a near-monopoly on some of those supplies – has requested to Swiss antitrust authorities to organize a way for Swatch to cut back on its dominance, noting that the company no longer wants to be the sector’s “supermarket” for those supplies like the balance-springs that make watches tick as well as the internal mechanism that drives a watch’s moving parts. According to reports, Swatch is looking to Weko – Switzerland’s antitrust authority – to help the company back-off the market and eventually stop deliveries to some watch makers without hampering competition; Swatch has apparently been allowed to downsize its deliveries in 2012 and 2013, and Weko is expected to announce before July how the company can entirely phase out those deliveries. The move by Swatch, however, means luxury watch makers are now scrambling for those parts as they look to other luxury brands to maintain the “Swiss Made” label.
Full Content: Business World Online
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Google and South Carolina Clash Over State Records Demand
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Telefonica Germany Teams Up with Amazon Web Services to Migrate 5G Customers
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Federal Judge Grants $7.4 Million Settlement in Pork Price-Fixing Case
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Wilson Sonsini Bolsters Antitrust and Competition Practice with Key Partner Returns
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
EU to Scrutinize Telecom Italia’s Network Sale to KKR
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI