The European Commission opened an investigation into American fashion brand Guess’ distribution agreements in the European Union, which may include illegal limitations for retailers.
No sales across borders
Allegedly, the agreements include statements that prohibit retailers from buying and selling Guess clothing across borders, which is in direct conflict with European legislation which dictates that a European consumer should be able to buy products in any country of the European Union.
“ One of the key benefits of the EU’s Single Market is that consumers can shop around for a better deal. We are going to investigate Guess’ practices further to ensure that it’s playing by the rules and not preventing consumers from buying products across borders”, Commissioner in charge of competition policy, Margrethe Vestager, said.
Guess is not the only company that has broken the rules. A recent study from the European Commission shows that one in ten retailers is given limitations regarding sales across borders.
In February, the Commission also launched an investigation into Philips’ price arrangements, which also involves Asus, Denon & Marantz and Pioneer. Apparently, the Dutch company wanted to decide its own products’ pricing in web shops.
