https://www.accc.gov.au
The ACCC has issued a final notice rejecting a proposal by
The ACCC has assessed
On
"We accept that
"However, we do not believe that the proposed conduct would have resulted in a net public benefit overall.
"Consumers would also lose bargaining power through being unable to ask one retailer to match another's advertised price. In all likelihood, consumers would have, overall, ended up paying more for Dewalt branded power tools,"
"This may also have led to retailers of other power tool brands increasing their prices, again to the detriment of consumers."
In 2018, the ACCC did not object to a resale price notification from Tooltechnic for its Festool and Fein brands of power tools.
"In the Tooltechnic matter, we concluded that while the loss of discounting through resale price maintenance was a consumer detriment, this was outweighed by the benefits to consumers,"
"Festool and Fein power tools are complex and highly differentiated in terms of their attributes and quality, meaning there was a benefit from Tooltechnic providing pre- and post - sales services to customers."
"Without resale price maintenance, the provision of these services by Tooltechnic was unlikely to be sustainable due to discounting by on-line retailers. The circumstances are different for
The ACCC will continue to investigate claims that some other wholesalers in the power tool market may be attempting to set minimum prices for power tools.
"We remind businesses that any attempt to set minimum prices without lodging a notification with the ACCC is a serious breach of the Competition and Consumer Act,"
"We are ready to take action if we find evidence that this conduct is occurring."
Further information about the resale price maintenance notification is available on the ACCC's public register at
Background
Resale price maintenance occurs when a supplier of goods or services (for example, a manufacturer or wholesaler) specifies a minimum price below which a reseller must not on-sell, or advertise for sale, those goods or services.
It is illegal for a supplier to attempt to set a minimum price, or a minimum advertised price for their products or services. However, businesses may obtain legal protection for resale price maintenance conduct by lodging a notification with the ACCC.
Once lodged, protection for the notified resale price maintenance conduct begins 14 calendar days after the notification was lodged, unless the ACCC issues a draft notice objecting to the notification within those 14 days.
In this case,
The ACCC may revoke a resale price maintenance notification where it is satisfied that the likely benefit to the public from the conduct will not outweigh the likely detriment to the public from the conduct.
Before issuing a revocation notice, the ACCC must issue a draft notice setting out its reasons for proposing to revoke the notification.
Revocation of the notification takes effect 31 days after the notice is provided to
.
(C) 2020 M2 COMMUNICATIONS, source