Rolex fined €91.6 million in France over online sales restrictions
The French competition authority has fined watch manufacturer Rolex €91.6 million euros (CHF87 million francs) for a decade-long prohibition of its authorised distributors from selling its watches online.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Português
pt
Rolex é multada em 91,6 milhões de euros na França por restrições às vendas online
The French competition authority fined Rolex France jointly with Rolex Holding SA, the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation and Rolex SA, according to a press release issued on Tuesday. The fine is “accompanied by a communication and publication injunction”.
The matter had been referred to the regulator by the Union de la Bijouterie Horlogerie and Pellegrin & Fils. The competition authority considers that the provisions of the selective distribution contract between Rolex France and its distributors constitute a vertical agreement restricting competition. It rejected the argument put forward by the French subsidiary of the Geneva-based luxury watch manufacturer “which consisted in justifying the ban on online sales by the need to combat counterfeiting and parallel trade”.
The French competition watchdog notes that Rolex’s main competitors, “who face the same risks, authorise the online sale of their products under certain conditions”. In its view, “these objectives can be achieved by means that are less restrictive of competition”.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Swiss foreign minister backs Berset at Council of Europe
This content was published on
Cassis described Berset as the "ideal candidate" to help the Council realise its aim of ensuring security and peace in Europe.
Gay conversion therapy banned in Swiss canton of Valais
This content was published on
On Thursday, the canton approved a new Health Act which includes a ban on therapies aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity.
This content was published on
Some aspects of pro-Palestine sit-ins have gone too far, but the right to protest and debate must be upheld, the student association has said.
Swiss LGTBIQ helpline: attacks more than doubled in 2023
This content was published on
Three organisations jointly operating a helpline have called for more awareness, action and funding to address discrimination.
This content was published on
Switzerland's economy grew slightly at the start of 2024, with growth in the service sector contrasting with weak growth in industry.
Swiss employment rate rises in first quarter of 2024
This content was published on
The number of women and foreign nationals in employment increased particularly strongly, the Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.