CMA sends statement of objections to Fender alleging online resale price maintenance
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a statement of objections alleging that Fender Musical Instruments Europe Limited operated a policy between 2013 and 2018 which required its guitars to be sold at or above a minimum price.
The CMA alleges that this practice, known as resale price maintenance or “RPM”, restricted competitive online pricing by independent retailers.
At this stage, the CMA’s findings are provisional and the CMA is considering representations from Fender before it reaches a final decision on whether there has been a breach of the Chapter I prohibition/Article 101 TFEU.
In the past three years the CMA has sanctioned a number of other companies for online RPM in diverse sectors including digital piano and keyboards, light fittings, bathroom fittings and commercial refrigeration.
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