Brother sewing equipment distributor fined more than a million CZK for fixing prices to retailers
Between 5 September 2016 and 25 September 2018, the undertaking Brother* set minimum or fixed retail prices for its customers for the further sale to final consumers of sewing equipment and accessories for household use supplied by Brother. The undertaking monitored the compliance of its customers with these prices and urged them by emails to increase their prices to the level set by it. At the same time, Brother warned customers that it was prepared to punish them in case of non-compliance.
The Office found out that the undertaking Brother had concluded and implemented prohibited agreements with its customers to fix prices directly for resale, thereby distorting competition in the markets for household sewing equipment and accessories in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The agreements were also capable of affecting trade between Member States of the European Union.
When imposing the fine, the Office took into account the fact that the party of the proceedings had abandoned its conduct before the administrative procedure was initiated. Brother achieved a significant reduction of the fine by implementing a compliance programme and a successful application of the settlement procedure.
This is the third case of the resale price maintenance in the sewing equipment sector detected and punished in the last year, the previous fines were imposed on STRIMA CZECH and OK business.
Press Unit of the Office
23/006 - S0298/2020
* Company Šicí technika Brother s.r.o., the subject of the Office for Protection of Competition’s fining decision, is an independent distributor of Brother products without any corporate links or other affiliation with Brother Sewing Machines Europe GmbH.
2025-08-05 / The Office Has Again Imposed Fines on Three Meal Voucher Issuers Totalling over CZK 279 million The Office for the Protection of Competition (hereinafter referred to as “the Office”) issued a first-instance decision to reimpose fines on meal voucher issuers, further specifying the exact reasons...
2025-07-14 / The Office for the Protection of Competition launched a reporting tool for anonymous and confidential reporting of suspected infringements of the rules laid down in the Act on the Protection of Competition Complaints submitted by the public are highly valuable source of information for the Office. They can help uncover illegal conduct, expedite investigations, initiate administrative proceedings, and ultimately...
2025-07-07 / Annual Report 2024 in English The Office for the Protection of Competition has published the English version of its 2024 Annual Report.The Office operates in the areas of competition protection, oversight of public procurement, control...
2025-07-02 / Office Fines Major Cartel in Railway Construction Sector More Than CZK 150 million By its first-instance decision, the Office for the Protection of Competition has imposed fines totalling CZK 157,693,000 on six undertakings for a series of cartel agreements related to public contracts...
2025-06-12 / EUROMEDIA and PEMIC Concentration Approval Subject to Commitments, Acquirer is Obliged to Divest the Wholesale Distribution of Printed Books The Office for the Protection of Competition (hereinafter referred to as “the Office”) has approved the concentration of undertaking EUROMEDIA GROUP, a.s., PEMIC BOOKS a.s. and BOOKNET s.r.o. subject...
2025-06-10 / The Office Launches Sector Inquiry in the Area of Publicly Accessible Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles The Office for the Protection of Competition (hereinafter referred to as "the Office") has launched a sector inquiry into the area of publicly accessible charging stations. Specifically, it is examining...
2025-04-25 / New competition tools: the way to more efficient competition law enforcement Opening remarks of the Chairman of the Office for the Protection of Competition Petr Mlsna delivered at the Interanational Chamber of Commerce Czech the Antitrust Conference in Prague on 24 April 2025...
2025-04-22 / MIDs Competition Authorities: Strengthening Competitiveness and Competition in the EU Single Market The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition, together with the competition authorities of Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Austria, has issued a joint statement warning against...