Two French Retailers Targeted in Dawn Raids by European Commission
The commission is investigating whether the retailers engaged in anti-competitive practices.
May 22, 2019 at 02:46 PM
2 minute read
Les Mousquetaires is one of the retailers targeted in a dawn raid on Tuesday. Photo by Gerard Bottino/Shutterstock.com.
The European Commission has carried out dawn raids at the offices of two French retailers, Groupe Casino and Les Mousquetaires, to search for evidence of anticompetitive practices.
The raids, which took place on Tuesday morning, were confirmed by the commission on Wednesday.
French media quoted the two companies confirming that there had been unannounced visits at the offices of Groupe Casino in Paris and Saint-Etienne in southern France, and at the offices of the Les Mousquetaires in Bondoufle near Paris.
Les Mousquetaires, which is owned by ITM Enterprises, and Groupe Casino were the third and fourth biggest retailers in the French market based on 2017 figures.
The raids focused on a centralised purchasing body (Inca) set up by the two retailers last summer.
Central purchasing bodies enable retailers to source products in greater volumes than they can on their own and enable them to pay lower prices.
The commission officials were accompanied by staff from the French competition authority, DGCCRF.
The commission said in a statement that the raids did not mean that the companies were guilty of anticompetitive behaviour and that the companies retained the right to defend themselves in antitrust proceedings.
Unannounced visits, or 'dawn raids' as they are known, are one method the commission uses to obtain evidence for its investigations into allegations of anticompetitive behaviour.
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