Seven major retailers and four producers have been hit with heavy fines by Germany's cartel office, according to reports.
So far, according to Reuters, the cartel has levied fines of €151.6 million against the retailers and producers in connection with price fixing of "some products".
Among those handed a slap on the wrist include the Metro supermarket chain, Aldi, Kaufland, Rewe and Edeka, plus Das Futterhaus and pet food company Fressnapf.
Andreas Mundt, the president of Germany's cartel office, said retailers, "should generally not conclude agreements on shop prices to the detriment of end consumers".
"Manufacturers should not pressurise retailers or give them monetary incentives to maintain certain retail prices. Due to the large number of companies and business relations we had to examine in this case we focused on specific product categories and practices in our investigations."
The size of the fines for individual companies was not disclosed, with the fines varying according to the degree of involvement of each company, the office said.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Andrew Jennings.
