UK: Lighting manufacturer fined US$3.4 million

A top UK lighting manufacturer has been fined £2.7 million (US$3.4 million) and others are receiving official warnings in a major price fixing probe into the industry.

Investigators from the Competitions and Market Authority (CMA) achieved a major victory this week as the National Lighting Company (NLC) became the first company to be fined. The CMA found that the firm required its distributors and retailers to use a minimum price when selling its luminaries online, in breach of competition laws.

This illegal practice is known as resale price maintenance and, according to the CMA, it means customers miss out on the best possible prices and cannot shop around for a better deal on that supplier’s products. NLC tried to avoid detection by not committing the illicit agreements to writing. The penalty covers violations in relation to its commercial lighting brand Saxby and decorative lighting brand Endon and includes an extra fine because the company ignored an earlier warning letter.

CMA’s senior director Ann Pope told Lux, “This decision should act as a warning to companies that resale price maintenance is illegal and that warning letters issued by the CMA are to be taken seriously and not to be ignored.”

Full Content: Lux Review

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