Competition: the very heavy fine that will have to pay Fnac Darty

6medias

Published on 28/07/2018 at 11:38


Last updated on 28/07 / 2018 at 11h43

The bill is salty and spoils the group's good results every six months. Friday, Fnac Darty was inflicted a heavy fine unprecedented 20 million euros by the Competition Authority. The cause: the group did not proceed in time to the mandatory sale of three of the six stores that allowed to validate the rapprochement between the two brands. Fnac had agreed to sell six stores in total in Paris and the Paris region: Darty Wagram, Darty Italy 2, Fnac Beaugrenelle, Darty Belleville, Darty Saint-Ouen and Darty Vélizy.

But three of them have not been in time, explains the Authority in a statement to justify its decision. Failure to meet the commitments made by Fnac Darty has distorted competition and limited the choice of consumers, she adds, asking the distributor to sell in exchange the stores Darty Pbady and Darty Montmartre. Fnac Darty recalls for her part that for the unceded outlets of Darty Belleville and Darty Saint-Ouen, she had submitted a buyer to the Authority who had not approved.

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For Fnac Beaugrenelle, the group indicates that it requested an extension of time, which the Authority also refused. The distributor says it has already found a buyer for the stores of Pbady and Montmartre. "In a very competitive environment for physical trade, the group has made its best efforts to execute the decisions requested by the Authority," he said in a statement.

A second half in disequilibrium

" As a result, Fnac Darty will review all available remedies to challenge the disproportionate amount of the penalty, "he adds. The Autorité de la concurrence specifies that this is its first sanction of a company for failure to respect the structural commitments conditioning a concentration operation.

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This fine tarnishes the good performance achieved by the group in the first half of 2018. Performance on Wednesday welcomed the Director General of Fnac Darty, Enrique Martinez, specifies the Parisian . Because now, the operating income of the group for the second half of 2018 is found, in fact, already amputated 20 million euros.