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The Competition Commission has referred pharmaceutical retailer Dis-Chem to the Competition Court for prosecution for excessive pricing during the coronavirus outbreak, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
Since the end of March, the Commission has received “several complaints from the public against various retail stores owned by Dis-Chem for engaging in excessive prices for facial masks, specifically dusk and surgical masks,” he said.
The referral followed a Commission investigation that found that Dis-Chem charged “excessive prices” for essential hygiene products, which was detrimental to customers and consumers.
The probe established that prior to the declaration of a national disaster state, Dis-Chem sold all three types of masks, namely 50PC blue surgical masks, 5PC surgical masks, and blue foliodress surgical masks, at much lower prices.
The blue 50PC surgical face mask had increased by 261% from R43.47 for a unit containing 50 masks in February to R156.95 per unit of 50 masks in March, according to the Commission.
5PC surgical masks, on the other hand, were inflated by 43%. One unit was sold for R13.27 in February and increased to R19.03 in March. These increases increased the wholesaler’s gross margin from 20% in February to 45% in March.
The Competition Commission previously promised to crack down on excessive prices for essential products during the state of national disaster. The government published regulations aimed at preventing price increases during the crisis. The restrictions applied to numerous products, including hand sanitizers, toilet paper, face masks, surgical masks, disinfectant wipes, and others.
“People selling these essentials should appreciate that these are literally life-saving items right now. They shouldn’t be exploiters and take advantage of liquidity-stricken consumers during the worst time in our history. We will spare no effort to protect the consumer. “said Commissioner of Competition Bonakele.
The Commission asked the Court to impose a maximum penalty against Dis-Chem.
