The Competition Council has sanctioned three companies operating on the Romanian tobacco market with fines totaling 135.2 million lei (26.6 million euros) for participating in anti-competitive agreements on the heated tobacco products market, the institution announced in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.
"Following an investigation, the competition authority found that between Philip Morris Trading SRL and each of the distributors Interbrands Orbico SRL and Mediaposte Hit Mail SA there were agreements aimed at fixing the resale prices for Philip Morris' IQOS heated tobacco products," the release states.
According to the same source, in practice, the three companies established the prices at which IQOS products were to be resold to customers, as well as the discounts applied within the promotions carried out by Interbrands Orbico SRL in the specialised stands and by Mediaposte Hit Mail SA on the iqos.ro website. Also, the distributors' promotional campaigns could only be carried out with the supplier's approval, both at IQOS stands and on the dedicated website.
Of the total amount of fines, Philip Morris Trading SRL received a sanction of 78.69 million lei, Interbrands Orbico SRL - of 52.12 million lei, and Mediaposte Hit Mail S.A. was sanctioned to pay 4.45 million lei.
The competition authority specifies that Interbrands Orbico SRL acknowledged the violation of the Competition Law and, as a result, benefited from a cut in the fine.
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Philip Morris Romania’s response
“We strongly disagree with the Competition Council’s conclusions and the interpretation given to the applicable legal framework. We are currently analyzing all available avenues to challenge this decision.
We respect the right of our partners to take the measures they deem necessary to resolve this situation and focus on their business.
We, Philip Morris Trading, firmly support our position that, during the investigated period, we offered adult smokers in Romania the best commercial programs, discount promotions and the best experience. Thus, the company’s commercial activities comply with the legislation in force and are designed to benefit adult consumers in Romania.
IQOS is the leader of a growing category, which Philip Morris International built from scratch. This achievement is the result of many years of work and considerable investments made to ensure that our products reach adult smokers exclusively and offer them better options than continuing to consume conventional products that burn tobacco.”
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