ACCC to Reject Plan to Impose Minimum Prices on Premium Electrical Goods

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a draft decision proposing to deny authorisation to future arrangements that would allow a major electrical goods buyer to impose minimum prices on a wide range of electrical products including televisions, white goods, cameras, ovens and espresso machines.

The arrangements proposed by buying group, Narta International, would enable the group to require certain new release, premium or BEKO branded electrical products sold at around 30 retailers including JB Hi-Fi, Bing Lee, and David Jones, to be advertised at the same price.

In a statement, ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said, “the ACCC has concerns that the ability for Narta to set a minimum advertising price on a broad range of electrical goods will reduce competition between retailers and result in higher prices for consumers,”

“This is particularly a concern for competition with online retailers, which generally do not negotiate their selling prices down from the advertised price like bricks and mortar retailers might do.”

Authorisation affords statutory protection from legal action for conduct that could be caught under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Generally, the ACCC is able to give an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.

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