The Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) will convene on November 4th, 2025, to examine, following the Statement of Objections (SO) of the case Rapporteur, whether there is a breach of national and EU competition law on vertical agreements by the company under the name PUBLIC RETAIL S.A. (hereinafter referred to as "PUBLIC") with its suppliers as well as the commitments offered by PUBLIC.
The case concerns an ex officio investigation into a possible infringement of Article 1 of Law 3959/2011 on the "Protection of Free Competition," as in force, and/or Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (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.
The findings of the relevant investigation show that the agreement between PUBLIC and certain suppliers includes a "price protection" clause applicable in the event of reduced prices by competitors – retailers of PUBLIC, which may conditionally lead the contracting supplier to agree on resale price maintenance (RPM) with the members of its network. The duration of the alleged infringement extends from 2017 to date.
According to the SO, the commitments offered by PUBLIC – including, inter alia, the elimination of the above contractual term – fully address all aspects of the likely competition issues identified in the markets under consideration.
The HCC will examine whether the commitments offered by PUBLIC fall under the terms, conditions and procedure for accepting commitments, in relation to the competition issues identified in the relevant Statement of Objections.
It should be noted that the SO is not binding on the HCC, which will base its decision on the evidence and the arguments put forward by the parties concerned.