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On Tuesday, it was announced that the Norwegian Competition Authority announces huge fines for supermarket chains Coop, Rema and Norgesgruppen.
The rates that have been announced amount to NOK 21 billion.
Consumers Council Director Inger Lise Blyverket is concerned about who will end up with the bill, if the chains have to pay the giant fees.
– It is the competition that controls prices, so if the chains end up setting prices to cover these rates, this will be an impossible situation. Then consumers will lose twice, cross-border trade will not decrease and the trust we have in them as consumers will be broken, he tells TV 2.
The fact that the Norwegian Competition Authority has sent a notice to the networks is taken very seriously.
– Price cooperation and price coordination completely destroy the market, and as a consumer we depend on price competition, this is how we get the right price for what we buy, he says, adding that he has long been the competitive situation in the grocery industry worries.
– There are few competitors and few suppliers, he says.
Seizure
In 2018, the Norwegian Competition Authority carried out a raid on the relevant supermarket chains.
It is the seizures they made here that are the basis for the warning that has now been sent.
– We believe from what we have taken over, that the scheme that these chains have had with the price hunters has been expanding over time and that it has led to an unfortunate price collaboration. We have carried out a very thorough investigation of the three networks and have concluded that they have cooperated in such a way that prices may have increased, Lars Sørgard, director of the Norwegian Competition Authority, tells TV 2.
He explains that the 21 billion fee is set in the same way as they usually do in similar cases: this is 10 percent of annual turnover.
– This is the largest market we have, and then it will also be the largest tariff, says Sørgard.
He denies that consumers are the ones who have to bear the bill for this.
– No, it is the owners of these chains who have to pay, he emphasizes.
– To the courts
On Tuesday, the three networks announced that they will submit a response to the Norwegian Competition Authority, and that they do not acknowledge each other in the allegations.
– We have been open about our use of bounty hunters with the Norwegian Competition Authority at all times, and if they think we have done something wrong, they also have a duty to provide guidance. They can’t sit back and watch us do something they think is wrong for ten years, Geir Inge Stokke, CEO of Coop, tells TV 2.
Once the Norwegian Competition Authority has issued a fee notice, the networks have an opportunity to respond.
The Norwegian Competition Authority will take a position on the answers, before reaching a final conclusion. The case can then be rejected or the fees maintained.
– We have not seen anything in what the Norwegian Competition Authority has proposed, which should indicate that we have done something wrong. It is important that this is just a warning. If they don’t take note of our feedback, this will probably end up in the judicial system, even the Supreme Court if they want to support this, he says.
Rema is taking the accusations in stride for the moment.
– We have received a notification based on preliminary assessments from the Norwegian Competition Authority. We will use the time ahead to formulate a full response to that, and we expect the Norwegian Competition Authority to change its conclusion after receiving our response, says Rema’s chief marketing officer, Trond Bentestuen.
Norgesgruppen also rejects violations of the Competition Law.
– We believe that the price search business has led to lower prices and has been good for consumers, says Stein Rømmerud, Executive Vice President Communications and Public Relations at Norgesgruppen.
Believe in the accusations
TV 2 was on Tuesday in Halden, where we asked consumers at various grocery stores what they think about the warning from the Norwegian Competition Authority.
– I think there are many internal contests that never go out in public. I won’t be surprised if they work together, customer Gro Hauge tells TV 2.
Rune Jensen also agrees.
– We have little competition, when we only have three or four large chains that dominate the market. I don’t rule out cooperating, he says.
Stokke was asked what he thinks the current case does to his credibility with clients.
– It is clear that when issues like this arise, there will be much debate about it. At the same time, I think it will come to light that this is not true, he says.
Blyverket thinks that what is happening is very regrettable.
– If this were to be true, it would break a lot with the confidence we have as consumers in the chains, he says.
