UK: Model agencies colluded to fix prices, competition regulator says

Some of Britain’s top model agencies colluded to fix prices charged to retailers, fashion brands and other customers, the competition regulator has alleged. FM Models, Models 1, Premier, Storm and Viva agreed to exchange competitively sensitive information, including future prices, from April 2013 to March 2015, the Competition and Markets Authority alleged. In some cases, agencies agreed a common approach to pricing, the CMA added.

The allegations affect agencies at the pinnacle of the British modelling industry. Premier was the agency that launched Naomi Campbell’s career, Storm discovered Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne. Models 1 have represented Sophie Dahl and Yasmin Le Bon while Viva’s models include Stella Tennant and Natalia Vodianova.

The agencies allegedly used the Association of Model Agents trade association as a vehicle for price coordination when their representatives controlled the AMA’s managing council. The association circulated regular “AMA alerts” encouraging agencies to reject fees offered by customers and negotiate higher payments, the CMA said.

The CMA published its provisional findings after an investigation that began in March 2015. The regulator carried out dawn raids on agencies’ offices, interviewed staff and seized computer hard drives and files last year in operations that stunned the industry.

Full Content: The Guardian

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