Sennheiser Tangled in Million-Euro Price Fixing Scandal: Federal Cartel Office Cracks Down
Illegitimate Pricing Agreement Enforcement: Competition Agency Levies Heavy Fine on Sennheiser for Price-Fixing Violation - Commission to Launch Procedure for Adopting Directive on Harmonizing Laws for Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Consumer Protection.
Germany's technology giant, Sennheiser, found itself in the hot seat when President of the Federal Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt, accused the company of limiting free price formation in premium headphone distribution since at least 2015. The alleged offense? Agreeing on consumer prices, particularly when prices deviated significantly from the Recommended Retail Price (RRP).
When prices strayed too low, Sennheiser reportedly stepped in, persuading traders to raise the price. According to the Federal Cartel Office, even the company's employees had attended cartel law training, a fact Mundt pointed out. However, instead of abiding by cartel law principles, they were using their newfound knowledge to cloak the price restrictions.
The administrative decision also extends to Sonova Consumer, the German subsidiary of the Swiss hearing aid manufacturer, which took over Sennheiser's consumer electronics division in 2022. This included the retail sale of headphones. Remarkably, the illegal agreements continued even after the takeover, between March and September 2022, until the Federal Cartel Office took action with a raid.
- Sennheiser
- Price Manipulation
- Federal Cartel Office
- Headphones
- Multi-Million Euro Fine
- Penalty
- Cartel Law Transgression
- Andreas Mundt
- Sonova Consumer
In the wake of this scandal, the Federal Cartel Office has dished out a hefty fine of almost 6 million euros. The identities of the three implicated managers are yet to be revealed. Despite the specific duration of these restrictive practices remaining undisclosed, one thing’s for sure - the music might have stopped playing for Sennheiser.
- The Federal Cartel Office has imposed a multi-million Euro fine on Sennheiser, the German technology giant, for limiting free price formation in premium headphone distribution since at least 2015.
- Sennheiser, along with its German subsidiary Sonova Consumer, is accused of agreeing on consumer prices, particularly when prices deviated significantly from the Recommended Retail Price (RRP).
- Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office, pointed out that even Sennheiser's employees had attended cartel law training, yet they were using this knowledge to cloak the price restrictions.
- The administrative decision extends to Sonova Consumer, which took over Sennheiser’s consumer electronics division in 2022, and these illegal agreements continued even after the takeover, between March and September 2022, until the Federal Cartel Office took action with a raid.
- The identities of the three implicated managers in this price manipulation scandal are yet to be revealed, but a penalty of almost 6 million euros has been issued by the Federal Cartel Office, hinting at the severity of the cartel law transgression.
