Latest news with #AndreasMundt
CNBC
02-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Amazon's pricing controls may be anticompetitive, German regulator warns
German antitrust regulators warned Amazon on Monday that the company's pricing mechanisms for third-party sellers could run afoul of competition laws. The Federal Cartel Office said in its preliminary assessment that Amazon's pricing controls limit the visibility of merchants' products and, "based on non-transparent marketplace rules," interfere with their freedom to set prices. Amazon uses algorithms and statistical models to calculate certain price caps for products, the Cartel Office said. Products that are flagged as having "prices that are too high" or "prices that are not competitive" can then be demoted in search results, excluded from advertising or removed from the buy box, they added. The buy box is the listing that pops up first when a visitor clicks on a particular product, and the one that gets purchased when a shopper taps "Add to Cart." "Competition in online retail in Germany is largely determined by Amazon's rules for the trading platform," Federal Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt said in a statement. "Since Amazon competes directly with other marketplace retailers on its platform, influencing competitors' pricing, even in the form of price caps, is fundamentally questionable from a competition perspective." Amazon's pricing practices not only threaten sellers' businesses, but could also harm other retailers by deterring them from offering lower prices, the Cartel Office said. An Amazon spokesperson said the company strongly disagrees with the Cartel Office's preliminary findings. They added that any changes to Amazon's pricing mechanisms would be "bad for customers and selling partners." "If Amazon is prevented from helping people find competitively priced offers, it will lead to a bad shopping experience for them, as we'd need to promote uncompetitive or even abusive pricing in our store," the spokesperson said in a statement. "This would mislead customers into thinking they're getting good value when, in reality, they're not." Amazon can provide feedback to the Cartel Office on its preliminary assessment before it reaches a final decision. Amazon in 2022 reached a deal with European Union antitrust regulators who were investigating its use of seller data and buy box practices. As part of the settlement, Amazon agreed to display a second buy box on products sold in Europe when there is a second competing offer that's different on price or delivery. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is also probing Amazon's use of pricing algorithms on its sprawling third-party marketplace as part of a wide-ranging antitrust lawsuit filed in 2023. Amazon has said the FTC's complaint is "wrong on the facts and the law." The case is set to go to trial in October 2026.
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
German antitrust head sees divergence in rhetoric with US peers, not in substance
BERLIN, May 19 (Reuters) - Germany's antitrust head Andreas Mundt on Monday addressed mounting concerns about the deviation in approaches between European regulators and their U.S. peers, saying the divergence is more in terms of rhetoric than substance. Such worries have been amplified in recent months by U.S government and lawmakers' criticism of EU scrutiny of Big Tech and fines levied on U.S. companies for breaching EU rules. Mundt said feedback that he has received from the markets, speeches by antitrust officials and conferences suggested there could be some grandstanding involved. "I think that divergence that we often talk about is more rhetoric and maybe competition policy is one of the rare branches where we have more convergence in substance between the Biden and Trump administrations than we had before," he told a conference organised by ECA Economics. Both the European Commission and U.S. antitrust regulators are cracking down on Big Tech, demanding in some cases a breakup of lucrative units core to the companies' businesses. Mundt also took aim at EU telecoms operators demanding looser merger rules such as reviewing their deals on a pan-European level rather than national level and to give more weight to their investments. "I generally agree with the Draghi report but not in telecoms," he said, referring to a wide-ranging study by former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi aimed at boosting Europe's competitiveness. "To define the telecoms market at an EU level would make market definition completely artificial and fictional. As long as you have something like 26 regulation regimes, it would be very hard to define an EU-wide market," Mundt said.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
German bakery major Harry-Brot gets OK to buy Rewe plant
German bakery group Harry-Brot has secured approval from competition officials to buy a factory from major grocer Rewe. Harry-Brot has acquired the Glockenbrot Bergkirchen bakery from Rewe for an undisclosed sum. The approximately 320 staff at the site will move to Harry-Brot, a spokesperson told Just Food. In its statement, Germany's Federal Cartel Office, the Bundeskartellamt, said the deal 'will only result in minor competitive changes for the other market participants' in the country's bakery sector. Glockenbrot, which has been a part of Rewe since 1986, has produced private-label bread and baked goods for the retailer at two sites – one in Bergkirchen and the other in Frankfurt. Before striking a deal to sell the Bergkirchen to Harry-Brot, Rewe had decided to close the factory in Frankfurt. Harry-Brot produces bread and baked goods from ten plants in Germany. It generated sales of around €1.3bn ($1.48bn) in its 2024 fiscal year. Andreas Mundt, president of the Bundeskartellamt, explained the 'decisive factor' in its assessment was that Glockenbrot had so far produced 'exclusively' for Rewe within the group. "Harry-Brot is by far the leading manufacturer of bread and baked goods in Germany. The planned acquisition of the Rewe subsidiary Glockenbrot will further strengthen this position. Nevertheless, we do not have any fundamental competition concerns that could justify a prohibition of the transaction," Mundt said. "The acquisition will only change the competitive situation for other market participants to a manageable extent. Even after the merger, there will still be powerful competitors in the primarily affected market for self-service bread and baked goods." Meanwhile, Harry-Brot is planning to build another bakery in Erlensee, east of Frankfurt. If the project goes ahead, the company is hoping to start production in 2028. The Bundeskartellamt said the acquisition of the Bergkirchen site and the opening of the Erlensee facility would 'at least in southern Germany, likely lead to an expansion of the product range and increased competition'. "German bakery major Harry-Brot gets OK to buy Rewe plant" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
11-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Regulator sides with Germany's 1&1 in 5G rollout row with Vodafone
BERLIN, April 11 (Reuters) - The German competition regulator said it sided with 1&1 ( opens new tab on Friday in a spat over radio mast access between the upstart 5G provider and larger rival Vodafone (VOD.L), opens new tab, suspecting the British telecoms group of breaching antitrust law. In a preliminary legal assessment, the German Cartel Office informed Vodafone and its spun-off radio mast business Vantage Towers that they are suspected of impeding 1&1 in its bid to become Germany's fourth mobile network operator. Vodafone and 1&1 could not be reached for comment. 1&1 filed a complaint with the cartel office in February 2023, blaming the sluggish progress of its 5G rollout on Vantage Towers, which it said was hampering access to the around 20,000 antenna sites it manages in Germany. Parent company Vodafone remains its main lessee. In an apparent rapprochement in August that year, 1&1 struck a deal with Vodafone to provide access, but the office saw "massive delays" in the implementation of that agreement. Vodafone and Vantage Towers now have the opportunity to comment on the allegations, the regulator said. "At the current stage we are considering using our powers as a competition authority to enforce the provision of the sites which have not yet been made available," cartel office president Andreas Mundt said.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple loses German court battle
Apple has failed in its attempt to challenge a ruling by a German court, which upheld a regulatory decision subjecting the company to stricter antitrust oversight. In its ruling, Germany's Federal Court of Justice upheld the classification of the iPhone-maker as a company with significant market power. This will allow antitrust regulators greater flexibility to scrutinise its business practices. In doing so, the court supported the German cartel office's 2023 designation of Apple as a 'company of paramount cross-market significance for competition'. 'The products and services that Apple offers are highly vertically integrated, closely interconnected and largely reserved for users of Apple devices,' the court said, as reported by BNN Bloomberg. 'This is the basis for what the company itself calls the Apple ecosystem.' The ruling places Apple alongside other tech giants such as Google parent Alphabet and Facebook owner Meta, which are also subject to potential measures to curb their dominance in Germany. This decision aligns with a global trend where regulators aim to open markets to rival start-ups and offer consumers more choices, reported Reuters. The European Commission's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which became law in 2023, serves as a benchmark in these efforts. In March 2024, the European Union (EU) initiated an investigation into Apple, Alphabet, and Meta under the DMA legislation. Recently, it was reported that Apple along with Meta Platforms could potentially face fines for breaching the DMA. The company, however, expressed disagreement with the German court's decision. 'It [the decision] neglects the value of a business model that places the privacy and security of users at its centre,' an Apple representative was quoted by Reuters as saying. The court's decision not to consult with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, as requested by Apple's legal team, further solidifies the ruling. Apple's App Store has been under particular scrutiny in Europe due to concerns over data collection practices. Andreas Mundt, president of Germany's national competition regulatory agency, welcomed the court's decision. Mundt, as reported by Reuters, said: 'This means that the highest court has confirmed that Apple is subject to stricter abuse control. 'Our ongoing review of Apple's tracking regulation for third-party apps is therefore on a solid footing, and we are working flat out on this case and other cases against the major internet companies.' "Apple loses German court battle – faces stricter oversight" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
