Swatch and Citizen face Italian scrutiny over pricing practices

[MILAN] The Italian competition authority said on Tuesday it had opened two investigations into Swiss watchmaker Swatch and Japan’s Citizen Watch.

The probes involve an alleged infringement of European rules on the fixing of retail prices displayed online by the groups’ authorised distributors.

The two companies may be limiting price competition among their retailers through a vertical agreement, by imposing retail prices on their distributors and adopting “retaliatory commercial measures” against those that fail to comply, the antitrust authority said in a statement.

The agency’s officials carried out inspections at the Italian offices of Swatch and Citizen on Dec 3.

Swatch and Citizen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS