The import, wholesale and retail markets for large/white domestic electrical appliances (e.g. refrigerators, washing machines, cookers, extractor hoods etc., fitted or not).

Decision, following the relevant Statement of Objections (SO), on the case concerning the ex officio investigation conducted by the Directorate-General for Competition in the import, wholesale and retail markets for large/white domestic electrical appliances (e.g. refrigerators, washing machines, cookers, extractor hoods etc., fitted or not), to determine whether the conditions for application of the provisions of Article 1 of L. 3959/2011 and/or Article 101 TFEU are met, in the context of a vertical agreement, following the Settlement proposal submitted by the company under the name PYRAMIS METALLOURGIA S.A.

Article 29A of Law 3959/2011 and para. 39 of the HCC Plenary Decision No. 790/2022.

Operative part of the Decision

The HCC, in Plenary sitting, unanimously decides by open vote, as follows:

A. Finds that “PYRAMIS METALLOURGIA S.A.” infringed Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 TFEU due to its participation in prohibited vertical agreements through the practices outlined in the Statement of Objections, in the context of the Settlement Procedure.

B. Orders PYRAMIS to cease, if it has not already done so, and refrain in the future from the infringements of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 TFEU found.

C. Imposes on PYRAMIS a fine amounting to two hundred seventy-eight thousand six hundred forty-eight euros (€278,648) for committing the established infringement of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 TFEU.

According to the grounds of the Decision, the evidence available shows that “PYRAMIS METALLOURGIA S.A.” infringed Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 TFEU by imposing minimum advertised prices (MAP), which constitute an indirect form of resale price maintenance (RPM), with which retail stores complied with regard to prices advertised on online price-comparison channels, in breach of Αrticles 1 (1) of Law 3959/2011 and 101 (1) TFEU. The infringement lasted from 03.05.2018 to 06.09.2022. Furthermore, it is noted that such vertical agreements constitute by object restrictions of competition.