The ruling against Philips, Asus, Pioneer and Denon & Marantz followed a 17-month investigation by the European Commission as part of its crackdown on online sales practices such as price restrictions based on a customer’s location or nationality. The investigation, which began in February 2017, was one of three that covered a total of 15 companies, according to Reuters.
The four companies were found to have restricted the ability of online retailers to set their own prices for certain products, insisting on fixed or minimum resale prices.
Pioneer was also found by the EU to have sought to limit the ability of its retailers to sell across borders. It engaged in illegal practices in 12 EU countries, including France, Germany, the Netherlands and UK.
A second EU investigation into Valve Corp, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax, accused of preventing purchases because of a consumer’s location or country of residence. The third investigation focused on tour operators Kuoni, REWE REGRP.UL, Thomas Cook and TUI and hotel group Melia.
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