The District Court set a fine of PLN 506 million for Jeronimo Martins for obtaining previously unagreed discounts from food suppliers, thus agreeing with the findings of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection indicating that the company had no right to engage in such behavior – the office wrote on the X platform.
“The District Court agreed with the findings of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. It confirmed that Jeronimo Martins Polska had no right to obtain previously unagreed discounts from food suppliers,” he wrote. UOKiK on the X platform
“This is a precedent-setting judgment”
“The court set the fine at over half a billion PLN (over PLN 506 million). The judgment is a very important signal for the market, especially the largest entrepreneurs. Retail chains should pay suppliers for the products the price they agreed on,” it added.
As stated, in the oral justification, the Court emphasized the huge advantage of the Biedronka chain over suppliers. He also shared the position of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection that the chain is obliged to perform concluded contracts and refrain from unilateral price changes. The decision is not final and may be appealed.
It was added that this is another successful case in which the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection protects market participants against unfair practices of retail chains. The courts confirmed, among others: decisions regarding incorrect labeling of fruit and vegetables with the country of origin by Kaufland and Biedronka.
In December 2020, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a fine of over PLN 723 million on Jeronimo Martins, pointing out that the company unfairly earned money at the expense of food suppliers.
“This is a precedent-setting judgment important for the entire market. It confirms the course of action we have adopted and implemented successively and with determination, taking advantage of the contractual advantage. We are guarding Polish food suppliers and producers,” said Tomasz Chróstny, president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, quoted in the entry.
Jeronimo Martins is the owner of Biedronka – the largest retail chain in Poland, with stores located in over 1,300 towns, which has been present on the Polish market for 29 years. At the end of the first quarter of 2024, it had 3,596 branches.
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