Why the Antitrust Authority fined Apple and Amazon (which react)
The Market Guarantor has imposed a fine of 68.7 million euros on companies of the Amazon group and a penalty of 134.5 million euros on companies of the Apple group. All the details with the reactions of Amazon and Apple
The Italian Antitrust Authority imposed a penalty of 68.7 million euros on the companies of the Amazon group and a penalty of 134.5 million euros on the companies of the Apple group and ordered these companies to put an end to the restrictions, allowing access to Amazon.it for resellers of “genuine” Apple and Beats products in a non-discriminatory manner.
Here are all the details of the Antitrust decision.
BECAUSE ANTITRUST HAS MULTIPLE APPLE AND AMAZON
The Authority concluded the investigation launched against the companies of the Apple and Amazon groups regarding the restrictions on access to the Amazon.it marketplace by legitimate retailers of “genuine” Apple and Beats branded products.
WHAT THE ANTITRUST DISCOVERED ABOUT APPLE AND AMAZON
The offices of the Guarantor have ascertained that certain contractual clauses of an agreement signed on October 31, 2018 – which prohibited official and unofficial resellers of Apple and Beats products from using Amazon.it, allowing the sale of Apple and Beats products in this marketplace only to Amazon and to certain individuals chosen individually and in a discriminatory way – they violate art. 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
HOW THE AGCM INVESTIGATION ON APPLE AND AMAZON ENDED
In fact, the investigation established the intention to introduce a purely quantitative restriction on the number of retailers, allowing only Amazon and certain subjects, identified in a discriminatory way, to operate on Amazon.it. The clauses of the agreement – according to the Agcm – “also limited cross-border sales, as retailers were discriminated on a geographical basis. The restrictions of the agreement have affected the level of discounts offered by third parties on Amazon.it, decreasing their size ".
THE GUARANTOR'S NOTE
The restrictiveness of these conducts appears confirmed by the fact that Amazon.it – reads the Antitrust note – represents the place of electronic commerce where at least 70% of purchases of consumer electronics products in Italy are made, of which at least 40% is represented by retailers who use Amazon as a brokerage platform.
WHAT THE AGCM SAYS
In this perspective, the Guarantor underlines, "the Authority's decision recognizes, in line with the jurisprudence of the EU Court of Justice, the need for distribution systems, in order to be compatible with competition rules, to be based on qualitative, non-discriminatory and applied without distinction to all potential resellers ".
THE LOCATION OF APPLE
Apple is preparing to appeal against the Antitrust sanction because it believes it has done "nothing wrong". The Italian Antitrust Authority has sanctioned the companies of the Apple and Amazon.com groups for a total of over 200 million euros for having put in place a restrictive agreement that did not allow all legitimate resellers of Apple and Beats products " genuini ”to operate on the amazon.it marketplace.
THE AMAZON REACTION
“We deeply disagree with the decision of the Italian Antitrust Authority and intend to appeal. The sanction imposed is disproportionate and unjustified ". This is what is read, among other things, in an Amazon note after the Antitrust decision to impose a penalty of 68.7 million euros on the companies of the Amazon group and a penalty of 134.5 million euros on the companies of the group. Apple at the end of the investigation regarding the restrictions on access to the Amazon.co.uk marketplace by legitimate resellers of 'genuine' Apple and Beats branded products. “We reject Antitrust considerations that Amazon benefits from the exclusion of sales partners from the store, as our business model is based on their success. Thanks to the agreement with Apple, Italian customers can find the latest Apple and Beats products on our store, benefiting from a catalog that has more than doubled, with better offers and faster shipping ”.
Amazon recalls that, with the agreement with Apple, the catalog of Apple products has more than doubled on Amazon.it, especially with reference to the most iconic products such as iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. The percentage of Apple products delivered via fast-track (i.e. with delivery promises typically within 2 days of ordering) increased from 25% in 2018 to 74% in 2020. Amazon highlights Apple's recent decision to increase the number of Apple Authorized Resellers who can sell Apple and Beats products on Amazon across Europe, as this results in a greater selection of products available to customers. An agreement, the group claims, has expanded the selection of products available to Amazon customers. In particular, in Italy there are large marketplaces and retail chains of consumer electronics products, active both online and offline.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/antitrust-apple-amazon/ on Tue, 23 Nov 2021 08:45:07 +0000.