The European Commission has fined U.S. sportswear maker Nike Inc €12.5 million ($14.2 million) for anti-competitive practices that prevented traders from selling merchandise branded with leading soccer clubs’ logos outside their national markets.
Margrethe Vestager, the E.U.’s antitrust czar, said the conditions the company imposed on merchants preventing them from selling soccer jerseys and other merchandise throughout the EU led to “less choice and higher prices for consumers”. The commission’s decision would ensure that consumers will be able to shop around for a “larger variety of products and for the best deals”, she said.
