German Anti-Cartel Office Fines Cosmetic Firms

Germany's Federal Cartel Office has fined the German units of nine cosmetics companies including Chanel and L'Oréal a total of almost 10 million euros for sharing strategic information.

 Individual fines ranging from 250,000
euros to 2.1 million euros, are to be imposed on the German units of
the companies as well as 13 present or former managers of these
companies, the regulator said in a statement.

The nine companies targeted by the
decision are Chanel, Clarins, Cosmopolitan Cosmetics Prestige — now
called P&G Prestige Products — Coty Prestige Lancaster, Estee
Lauder, L'Oreal, LVMH Parfums & Kosmetik, Shiseido and YSL
Beaute.

The firms were found to have
systematically exchanged information since at least 1995 on products,
prices, results and advertising campaigns, the office said in a
statement. Their actions raised the risk of market collaboration, it
added. The companies can appeal the fines at the appellate court in
Duesseldorf. The Cartel Office said that representatives of the nine
companies would meet four times a year to discuss their recent sales
figures, advertising costs, planned product launches and price
increases.

"This exchange of information
creates the danger of coordination of market behavior among cosmetics
makers," the Cartel Office said, adding that such coordination
breaches both German and European anti-trust law.