The European Commission (EC) has imposed a €5.7m ($6m) penalty on French fashion house Pierre Cardin and its primary licensee Ahlers for violating EU antitrust regulations.
The sanctions are a response to the companies’ restrictions on cross-border sales and the imposition of limitations on sales of Pierre Cardin-branded apparel to specific customers, breaching EU competition laws.
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Pierre Cardin allows third parties to produce and sell its branded clothing under its trademark through licensing agreements. Ahlers was the chief licensee within the European Economic Area (EEA).
The commission’s inquiry revealed that from 2008 to 2021, both entities engaged in anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices.
During the period of infringement, Pierre Cardin and Ahlers made agreements and coordinated actions to prevent competition in countries within the EEA where Ahlers held exclusive distribution rights.
Its actions broke Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement by protecting Ahlers from competition in EEA countries where it held a Pierre Cardin licence.
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By GlobalDataThese practices aimed to prevent other licensees and their customers from selling Pierre Cardin clothing outside their licensed territories or to low-price retailers, such as discounters.
This strategy was intended to grant Ahlers absolute territorial protection in its licensed areas within the EEA, ultimately partitioning the internal market and preventing retailers from sourcing products at lower prices in different member states.
The fines have been determined following the commission’s 2006 guidelines on fines, considering factors such as the severity, geographic scope and duration of the infringementss.
One party claimed an inability to pay, leading to a reduction in their fine after thorough assessment by the commission.
EC executive vice-president in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager said: “Today, we have fined Pierre Cardin and its licensee Ahlers for restricting cross-border trade in clothing, in breach of competition rules. This behaviour illegally fragmented our Single Market. It prevented consumers from shopping around for a better deal and from benefiting from greater choice.”
