Food retail sector in Martinique: the Autorité de la concurrence fines the Parfait group a total of €7.6 million for failing to comply with its commitments in the acquisition of the La Batelière hypermarket and shopping centre

In December 2022, the Autorité cleared the acquisition by the Parfait group of the Géant Casino hypermarket and the La Batelière shopping centre in Martinique (Decision 22-DCC-254), subject to a number of commitments, notably: to divest the hypermarket to a competitor by 22 September 2023, to preserve the value of the hypermarket and adjoining shopping centre, and to cooperate with the trustee appointed to monitor compliance with the commitments.

Finding that the hypermarket was not divested by the required date and in fact almost two years late, the Autorité has sanctioned, for the second time, the failure to comply with a structural commitment. Furthermore, the Parfait group failed to preserve the value of the assets divested, which it had controlled for several years. Lastly, and for the first time, the Autorité has sanctioned a failure to cooperate with the monitoring trustee in a merger control case, noting that the Parfait group had not actively cooperated with the trustee appointed to monitor compliance with the commitments.

For the first time, the Autorité has imposed three fines for non-compliance with commitments in the same decision, reiterating that commitments made as part of a merger clearance decision must be complied with in full. Any delay or attempt to circumvent their implementation constitutes a serious breach of economic public policy.