Belgian Competition Authority imposes €490,000 fine on Le Creuset for implementing RPM

The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) has imposed a fine of €490,000 on Le Creuset – a French-Belgian manufacturer of cookware for implementing resale price maintenance policy upon its distributors. The BCA investigation revealed that Le Creuset’s policy was aimed to guarantee a certain price level on the market by limiting the ability of distributors to determine their own resale prices to consumers, with the consequence of restricting price competition between distributors.