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He National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi), the body that monitors free competition in Peru, initiated a sanctioning process on a series of supermarket chains in that country for possible collusion, among which there are two important Chilean groups: Cencosud and Falabella.
Through a statement, the Peruvian regulator detailed that the companies Cencosud (Wong and Metro), Makro, Supermercados Peruanos SA (Plaza Vea and Vivanda) and Tottus allegedly agreed to set prices on the sale of whole turkeys nationwide.
In addition, it investigates the participation of San Fernando SA and Redondos SA because they would have acted as facilitators of the supposed agreement.
“It is important to note that the initiation of an administrative sanctioning procedure is based on the existence of reasonable indications regarding the carrying out of an alleged anti-competitive conduct and does not constitute a prejudice on the result of the procedure or the responsibility of the investigated “, Indecopi specified.
FINDINGS FROM THE INVESTIGATION
Investigations by Indecopi’s Free Competition Defense Commission (CLC) indicate that Between 2009 and 2016, supermarkets agreed on prices for the San Fernando brand turkey.
While, Wong, Metro, Plaza Vea, Vivanda and Tottus fell into this same anti-competitive practice between 2010 and 2015 with turkeys from the Redondos brand.
According to the evidence obtained by the CLC, consisting of emails and financial information, the alleged agreement would have been executed from the establishment of a “Suggested Minimum Retail Price” by suppliers San Fernando and Redondos, in the year-end festivities campaigns of the mentioned periods.
Cencosud, Makro, Supermercados Peruanos and Tottus have agreed to eliminate competition among themselves, avoiding setting prices below the “suggested minimum retail price” established by San Fernando. In turn, Cencosud, Supermercados Peruanos and Tottus would have done the same to avoid setting prices below the “minimum suggested retail price” for Redondos, the agency added.
It should be remembered that Cencosud -owner of Jumbo and Santa Isabel- was one of the three groups of supermarkets -together with Walmart, and SMU- that were convicted in Chile for the so-called “collusion of chickens”. which operated at least between 2008 and 2011, according to the Court for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC).
In that occasion Tottus, from Falabella, was also investigated, but the Chilean authorities found no information linking him to the cartel.
