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UK: Ping golf clubs case upheld

By  |  September 9, 2018

The Competition Tribunal’s judgment dismissed an appeal by the golf club manufacturer against the CMA’s decision to fine it for breaching competition law and imposed a revised fine of £1.25 million (US$1.6 million).

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    In August 2017, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that golf club manufacturer Ping had breached competition law by preventing 2 UK retailers from selling its golf clubs on their websites.

    The Tribunal announced Friday, September 7, it was of the “clear view” that “[t]he potential impact of the ban on consumers and retailers is real and material. It significantly restricts consumers from accessing Ping golf club retailers outside their local area and from comparing prices and it significantly reduces the ability of, and incentives for, retailers to compete for business using the internet.”

    The CMA had accepted that Ping was pursuing a genuine commercial aim of promoting in-store custom fitting, but found that it could have achieved this through less restrictive means.

    Full Content: Global Competition Review

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