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Distributors
March 23, 2020
Manufacturer says it plans to appeal fine
Apple, Tech Data and Ingram Micro have been fined by the French Competition Authority for agreeing on prices and stifling competition over the distribution of the manufacturer’s non-iPhone products.
The manufacturer was handed a €1.1 billion fine, while Tech Data and Ingram Micro were fined €76.1 million and €62.9 million respectively.
In a statement, the French Competition Authority’s president Isabelle de Silva said: “We deciphered specific practices that had been implemented by Apple for the distribution of its products in France (excluding iPhones), such as the iPad. Apple and its two wholesalers agreed not to compete and prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilising the wholesale market for Apple products.”
Silva added that the fine was the largest ever imposed by the Authority in one case.
Speaking to CNBC, an Apple spokesperson said: “The French Competition Authority’s decision is disheartening. It relates to practices from over a decade ago and discards thirty years of legal precedent that all companies in France rely on with an order that will cause chaos for companies across all industries. We strongly disagree with them and plan to appeal.”
Tech Data declined to comment. Ingram Micro were reached for comment.
This is the second fine imposed on Apple by French authorities in the past two months. In February, it was fined €25 million for slowing down its older models without informing customers.