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Have Swiss wholesalers and retailers like Landi, Volg, Manor, Valora and Spar threatened their suppliers with taking products off the shelf? Cooperation with the Markant company can have an anti-competitive effect.
Volg is one of several distributors that Weko is targeting.
The Competition Commission (Weko) carried out house searches on a total of four Swiss dealerships in recent days. The reason is the suspicion that companies have put pressure on their suppliers. The focus is on any agreement between the distributors and Markant Handels- und Industriewaren-Vermittlungs AG.
The range of affected products is wide and includes food, beverages and hygiene items. In general, Weko is targeting the following companies: pharmaceutical wholesalers Amedis-UE, Galexis and Voigt, department store groups Manor and Loeb, retailers Landi, Volg and Cadar (all three of the Fenaco group) and Spar, the confectionery wholesaler Cruspi, gastro wholesalers Demaurex & Cie. (Brand: Aligro) and Saviva (Migros), the kiosk operator Valora, the Swiss pharmacy chain Müller Handels AG, the bakery wholesaler Pistor and the beverage retailer GDI – Groupement de Dépositaires Indépendants.
Specifically, it deals with payment or collection transactions between retailers and suppliers, that is, how the suppliers receive money for their products from the retailer. Several dealers have outsourced this activity to Markant, which in itself would not be a problem.
Vendor fees and dealer kickbacks
Also, when processed through the Markant channel, fees are incurred on the one hand, so that the supplier ultimately receives less for their product than if the money was transferred directly from the retailer. On the other hand, part of these fees are said to have returned to the dealer as a bribe payment.
However, what is really problematic is that if the suppliers were resistant to this agreement and did not want to process the pickup through Markant, the distributors are said to have threatened to discontinue the products. Bottom line: either it goes through Markant or the product flies off the shelf. Such a practice would have an anti-competitive effect.
What does Coop do?
At the Volg retailer, they confirm the search of the house, but do not want to comment on the ongoing procedures. The company was “surprised” by the investigation and will cooperate fully. Quick responses are not expected. The Competition Commission estimates that the investigation could take about two years to complete.
There was also a search in Markant in Pfäffikon (SZ). The service provider will not comment on the specific case upon request. However, a spokesperson notes that processing through the Markant system has advantages for suppliers, for example that invoices would also be paid in the event of a distributor bankruptcy. It puts Markant’s total turnover with Swiss retailers at just under 2.5 billion Swiss francs.
Coop’s plans to join Markant in the future have caused unrest among providers. Weko is closely analyzing this development as part of a market watch, not yet completed. According to the authority, Coop has assured the Weko Secretariat that it will not force its suppliers to invoice through Markant. If a supplier chooses not to do so, Coop will not remove them from the trading partner list, but will work with them to find a solution.
