The markets for a) the import/manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade of school bags, kids’ lunch bags and pencil cases, b) children's toys, except for those related to the use of computers and computer systems, and c) the import, wholesale and retail trade of large household electrical appliances.

Decision on the ex officio investigations conducted by the Directorate-General for Competition into possible infringement of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and/or 101 TFEU in the markets for a) the import/manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade of school bags, kids’ lunch bags and pencil cases, b) children's toys, except for those related to the use of computers and computer systems, and c) the import, wholesale and retail trade of large household electrical appliances on the part thereof concerning possible vertical agreements between “PUBLIC RETAIL S.A.” and a number of its suppliers as well as the commitments offered by the said company, following the Statement of Objections under ref. no. 5192/22.07.2025.

Articles 1 and 25C of Law 3959/2011 and 101 TFEU

Operative part of the Decision

The Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC), in Plenary sitting, unanimously decided, by open vote, as follows:

1. Accepts, pursuant to Article 25 C of Law 3959/2011, the commitments, as set out in detail in the ANNEX to this decision, which includes the entirety of the commitments with Annex A attached thereto, as proposed by PUBLIC in its letter under ref. no. 3472/14.05.2025 to the Hellenic Competition Commission. These commitments are henceforth made binding and are as follows:

a. The Company expressly and unconditionally confirms that the updated standard supply contract for all product markets for the year 2025 (dated and effective as of 01.01.2025) does not include the relevant contractual resale price maintenance (RPM) clause, as it has already been removed and this amendment has been duly communicated to the Company's commercial departments.

b. The Company undertakes and commits itself to comply with the removal of the above clause from all supply contracts signed in 2025 and thereafter, so that all standard supply contracts received by its suppliers for signature will no longer include this specific clause, and has set the 30^th of September 2025 as the target date for the completion of the signing process for these annual supply contracts.

c. Where the above objective under point b) can not be met (e.g. due to delays in agreeing on other commercial terms), the Company undertakes to send a letter to its remaining suppliers in the markets concerned within the same deadline, i.e. by 30 September 2025, waiving application of the term in Annex 17.1. (b) of the standard supply contract henceforth and retrospectively. The Company's counterparties-suppliers affected by this commitment are expressly listed in Appendix A, which is attached to the full text of the commitments.

d. The standard supply contract for the year 2025 (referred to under point a. above) as well as the new contracts with (or the letter to) the suppliers listed in Annex A attached to the text of the commitments (referred to under point c. above) shall be submitted to the Hellenic Competition Commission.

2. Stipulates that the commitments undertaken shall be implemented immediately upon notification of this decision to PUBLIC.

3. It stipulates that within thirty (30) days of notification of this decision, PUBLIC shall, on the one hand, inform the Competition Commission in writing of the measures it has taken or will take to implement the commitments undertaken, and, on the other hand, submit to the Competition Commission the new standard contract and the new contracts with the suppliers mentioned in Annex A attached to the full text of the commitments, without the term at issue or the letters to them waiving that term henceforth and retrospectively.

4. In the event of non-compliance with the above commitments, which are made binding by this decision, the HCC may impose, by decision, the fines provided for Article 25 (1 d. and f.) of Law 3959/2011.

«PUBLIC RETAIL Α.Ε»

According to the HCC’s preliminary assessment, the contractual term in question imposed by PUBLIC may constitute a means of pressure on its counterparty supplier to maintain the level of resale prices within its retail network, in order to avoid the financial burden/damage resulting from paying retroactive compensation to PUBLIC (especially if the clause is frequently applied). Contrary to the usual practice of resale price maintenance (RPM), which concerns the imposition of retail prices by the supplier on its network, in this case, it is an initiative of the controlled retailer, which may lead the counterparty supplier to agree on resale price maintenance (RPM) with the members of its network and, thus, fall within the scope of prohibited vertical agreements. Regarding the commitments proposed by PUBLIC, the HCC considers that the proposed commitments provide sufficient guarantees that the controlled entity’s future commercial policy will not be able to lead its suppliers to retail price maintenance in the product markets under consideration. The content of the commitments is deemed sufficient to remove any competition concerns as the company expressly undertakes to immediately remove the contractual term that raises these concerns, which in any event does not appear to have been applied, as shown by the investigation. In the event of non-compliance with the above commitments (i.e., reintroduction and/or application of the term in question), which would seek to maintain resale prices at high levels and mitigate intra-brand competition, may be considered both as a breach of Articles 1(1) of Law 3959/2011 and 101(1) TFEU and as case of non-compliance with this decision.