Auchan will pay a huge fine. The decision was made by the Competition and Consumer Authority.

From time to time, there is a lot of noise in the media about scandals associated with well-known retail chains. Sometimes they are subject to severe financial penalties. Reasons include non-compliance with established rules, including: deception or misleading of consumers. Some time ago, by a court decision, Biedronka received a huge mandate. Now it comes to Auchan.

Auchan will pay the fine. There is a decision from the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority.

The fine against the Auchan chain was imposed by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The reason is that they act to the detriment of agri-food suppliers. It turned out that the company charged its contractors a commission for transporting products from central warehouses to the chain’s stores. She shouldn’t do this

For the crime, Auchan must pay a fine of 87 million zlotys. This is the solution, among other things. President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Tomasz Chrostny. This high level of commitment is intended to prevent the network from further illegal activities. “Central transportation of goods improves the position of the trading network. Therefore, it is not an additional service that the supplier must pay for, but a basic element of the retailer’s business model. Therefore, it is unacceptable to charge a fee for transporting goods from the main warehouse to the chain stores. This means financing your own business through suppliers. For such an action, I fined the owner of the Auchan chain in the amount of more than 87 million zlotys,” said Tomasz Chrostny, Chairman of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, in an interview with the media.

Auchan took advantage. The Competition and Consumer Authority explains its decision

Representatives of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection explained that producers of dairy products, meat, fruits and other food products bear the costs of delivering them to Auchan warehouses. At this moment, the retail chain becomes the owner of this product. She also decides on their distribution to individual stores. After it turned out that suppliers had no influence on Auchan’s internal logistics, but incurred costs, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection explained this as unfair use of contractual advantages.

As a result of unfair actions, Auchan will not only pay millions of zlotys, but will also have to stop its current practices. The decision is not final yet, so Auchan can still appeal to the court.