German confectionary giant Haribo has been fined by the Bundeskartellamt, the nation's competition authority, for improperly sharing information with three rivals on sales negotiations.
The Federal Cartel Office said yesterday (1 Aug) that a fine of €2.4 million had been imposed on the manufacturer and the sales representatives implicated in the matter, for "exchanging competitively relevant information".
Senior sales executives of the involved companies met frequently for informal talks in 2006 and 2007, according to the competition watchdog. It is reported that during these discussions, the Haribo staff in question exchanged information on "the state of negotiations with various major retailers".
The German branch of Mars is the only other involved party to be named by the authority. The company alerted authorities to the situation and has not been fined, it said. There are ongoing investigations into two other branded confectionery manufacturers, said the Bundeskartellamt. (2 Aug)
© 2012 ESM European Supermarket Magazine