Watchdog fines Casio millions for blocking discounts
The UK’s competition watchdog has fined Casio £3.7m after the electronics company admitted to illegally preventing online retailers from selling discounted musical instruments.
Casio put pressure on retailers to sell digital pianos and keyboards online at or above a certain price, using new software to monitor online prices in real time.
Read more: Competition regulator accuses Casio of preventing price discounts
The practice, known as resale price maintenance, can prevent customers finding the cheapest deal as when they shop around all retailers tend to be selling at the same price.
In Casio’s case, the monitoring was helped by retailers that reported their peers for selling at a lower price.
CMA senior director of antitrust Anna Pope said: “A digital photo or keyboard can be a significant purchase, and customers should be able to shop around for a good price.
“Casio’s illegal action – telling retailers not to offer their musical instruments at discounted prices – made it harder for customers to shop around for a better price and meant they risked paying over the odds.”
The fine was discounted by 20 per cent after Casio admitted illegal conduct.
The company said it had introduced changes and new processes to make sure the company complies with competition law.
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“After a year of uncertainty while the investigation was conducted, combined with the disruption many companies operating in the UK are experiencing due to ongoing Brexit negotiations, it is in the best interest of our employees, suppliers, shareholders, distributors, and customers to agree settlement and return our focus to daily business,” said Tim Gould, deputy managing director of Casio.
He added: “Casio fully cooperated with the CMA on the matter in order to ensure a swift resolution of the case”.
Main image credit: Getty