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The Competition Authority revealed some emails exchanged between those responsible for the supermarket chains and the supplier companies that were sentenced to fines of more than 300 million euros, in a mega-investigation into the agreement on the final prices of beverages, especially alcoholic beverages.
The competition applies a record fine of 304 million to supermarkets and beverage suppliers for agreeing prices
The messages, in which the elements that allow the identification of specific people or even establishments are blocked, were exchanged between 2009 and 2015 and help to support the conclusions of the conviction process, that is, that the objective was to raise prices or avoid falls and that some of the people involved were aware that these practices were sanctioned and were being investigated, so they asked that the revealing emails be destroyed.
The first email is from July 2009 and has a clear intention: “Taking into account the news that has come out about the investigation that the Competition Authority (Autoridade da Concorrência) is carrying out or intends to carry out in relation to suppliers-distributors, I would like to alert you to the need, if you have not already done so, to eliminate all emails, including this one, with communication of prices with suppliers and also with teams ”.
In the same email, it is clear that these practices involved other areas of the company, such as legal services. Especially those that do not comply with the type of mail that we have implemented with the help of the legal department ”.
The email is forwarded with a reinforcement of the message: “I think it is an excellent recommendation to avoid divulging this email. I suggest that you destroy and verbally reinforce the message.” Care must be taken with written documentation, be it meeting notes or mail printouts ”.
The recommendations will not have been fully complied with, since some of the emails were collected in raids and seizures carried out by the Competition Authority, whose investigation lasted several years until this Monday, the first conviction of a wide range of other trials that They seek to make themselves known. distribution chains and suppliers of consumer goods.
Copy of emails seized by the Competition Authority in the investigation of supermarkets
Another message from 2011 is clear about the purpose of these vendor-dealer combinations. “With the entry into force of the new price list for the new year, PrimeDrinks (one of the fined companies) asked us to align our RRP (public sale prices) to the RRP they currently recommend to achieve this as well. the market accompanies its rise ”. And for that it is necessary that a large number of operators follow the recommendation – the Competition Authority’s condemnations involve the main Portuguese supermarket chains.
It is mandatory to ensure that the rest of the operators do not compromise this movement, and therefore do not put these articles in a brochure and ensure that prices are not blocked (reduced) for fairs ”.
Even more direct is this response to an email from June 2015 titled “Increase RRP Sagres 6 + 33” (a six-pack of beers). “That is exactly the goal. Raise the prices !! Keep going! “
An email from 2013 is also reproduced in which there is a notice about Alverca de S. Bento stores from an unidentified chain that would not follow recommended prices.
The Competition Authority sentenced the six distribution chains and two beverage providers, as well as two personal guardians, to fines of 304 million euros for the combination of retail prices. Some of those targeted, such as Sonae, Jerónimo Martins and Central de Cervejas, have already announced that they will challenge the regulator’s conviction in the Competition Court.
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