Canard-Duchêne champagnes: Several Arvitis group companies and two wholesale importers fined for maintaining exclusive import rights
Canard-Duchêne champagnes: The Autorité de la concurrence fines several Arvitis group companies and two wholesale importers for maintaining exclusive import rights in French Guiana and Guadeloupe after the entry into force of the Lurel Act
Background
The Autorité de la concurrence fines several companies of the Arvitis group (TCD, Champagne Canard-Duchêne, C&C Export, Dourthe, Arvitis Bordeaux and Arvitis SA) as well as two wholesale importer companies, Sodis Chrismay (French Guiana) and Sodipa (Guadeloupe), for maintaining exclusive import rights on Canard-Duchêne champagnes after the Lurel Act came into force.
The total amount of the fines is €283,000.
The “Lurel” Act prohibits all exclusive import agreements since March 2013
The Overseas Economic Regulation Act of 20 November 2012, known as the “Lurel” Act, prohibited, as of 22 March 2013, unjustified exclusive import agreements in overseas territories.
The act aims to fight the high cost of living and includes in its provisions a prohibition in principle of exclusive import agreements, which prevent retailers from competing with wholesalers for their supply and ultimately increase the price of imported items.
The companies in question maintained, contractually and later informally, an exclusive import agreement after March 2013
Evidence shows that the fined companies maintained, until 31 December 2013, contracts containing exclusive distribution clauses.
It was also established that these exclusivity practices continued outside a contractual framework until 31 December 2016. The Autorité found, for example, that Arvitis refused to sell its Canard-Duchêne products directly to potential buyers in French Guiana and redirected them to its exclusive local importer. Arvitis also implemented a promotion mechanism in favour of the sole exclusive importer, intended to encourage local buyers to acquire its products via the latter.
Sanctions imposed
These practices, which continued for several years after 22 March 2013, are regarded as serious in view of the territories concerned, as they forced retailers to buy from Sodis Chrismay and Sodipa to the detriment of potential competing wholesale importers.
In light of these elements, the Autorité de la concurrence has imposed the following fines:
| Companies | Sanctions (in euros) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| For the practices implemented in French Guiana | ||||
| TCD (jointly and severally liable with Champagne Canard-Duchêne and Arvitis as parent companies) | 29,000 | |||
| TCD, Champagne Canard-Duchêne, C&C Export and Arvitis (jointly and severally liable with Champagne Canard-Duchêne, Dourthe, Arvitis Bordeaux and Arvitis as parent companies) | 59,000 | |||
| Sodis Chrismay (jointly and severally liable with Taillandier Frères as parent company) | 119,000 | |||
| For the practices implemented in Guadeloupe | ||||
| TCD (jointly and severally liable with Champagne Canard-Duchêne and Arvitis as parent companies) | 10,000 | |||
| TCD, Champagne Canard-Duchêne, C&C Export and Arvitis (jointly and severally liable with Champagne Canard-Duchêne, Dourthe, Arvitis Bordeaux and Arvitis as parent companies) | 19,000 | |||
| Sodipa (jointly and severally liable with SGPM as parent company) | 47,000 | |||
| TOTAL | €283,000 |
Exclusive imports: previous decisions
This is the tenth sanction decision issued by the Autorité concerning exclusive import practices in the French overseas territories:
- 21-D-23 (consumer goods) / press release of 7 October 2021
- 20-D-16 (consumer goods) / press release of 29 October 2020
- 19-D-20 (perfumes and cosmetics)/ press release of 8 October 2019
- 19-D-11 (medical biology) / press release of 29 May 2019
- 18-D-21 (consumer goods) / press release of 8 October 2018
- 18-D-03 (termite traps) / press release of 20 February 2018
- 17-D-14 (desserts) / press release of 27 July 2017
- 16-D-15 (consumer goods) / press release of 6 July 2016
- 15-D-14 (consumer goods) / press release of 10 September 2015
Decision 23-D-02 of 8 March 2023
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