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The Swiss antitrust agency put the magnifying glass on four companies, which together represent more than 60% of the world fragrance market, as it suspects that they could ally themselves to carry out anticompetitive practices to the detriment of consumers.
The American Flavors & Fragrances, the Swiss Givaudan and Firmenich and the German Symrise are among the world’s largest fragrance firms. Its clients range from fine perfumeries to the most discreet manufacturers of cleaning and household products.
The multi-billion dollar global scent industry creates and crafts fine fragrances for brands such as Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and many others, while designing scent for products from such large companies like Procter & Gamble or Colgate-Palmolive.
However, for the Swiss antitrust entity and for its peers in the United Kingdom and the European Union, these firms would have incurred in an unglamorous practice: “coordinate their pricing policy, prohibit their competitors from supplying certain customers and limit the production of certain fragrances”. In short, they would have joined forces illegally in what is known as collusion.
The European Union acknowledged that he raided some of the headquarters of these companies in search of information and the British watchdog also said it would collect documents and set the early 2024 deadline for results.
“The Commission is concerned that companies and an association in the fragrance industry around the world may have breached EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices,” said the executive from the 27-nation bloc. it’s a statement.
If found guilty, these multinationals would face fines of up to 10% of their global turnover for violating European Union antitrust rules.
with Reuters
