Kofola Fined over EUR 500,000

Central European soft drinks company Kofola has been fined CZK13.5 million (EUR 554,779) by the Czech competition authorities after being found guilty of price fixing.

 The Office
for the Protection of Competition (UOHS) said the penalty had been
imposed after Kofola had been involved with “forbidden and void
vertical agreements on retail price maintenance with their customers”
in various regions of the Czech Republic between 2001 and 2008.
The
Czech competition group said this practice was a serious breach of
competition regulations to the detriment of consumers, who were
forced to pay higher than market prices for the company’s
products.
The financial penalty against the company had been
reduced by about 50% because Kofola had cooperated with the enquiry
and acknowledged its behaviour, said the UOHS.
As well as the
Czech Republic, Kofola has a presence in Poland, Slovakia and Hungry.
It produces a range of fruit drinks, tonics, cola and water,
employing over 1,000 people.