• Following concerns raised by the President of UOKiK, Trek, a British bicycle manufacturer, changed the terms of the existing contracts with its contractors.
• Under the new rules, it will not restrict the area and distribution channels.
• During the investigation, the manufacturer abandoned the illicit activities and, as a result, it will avoid a maximum penalty of 10 percent of turnover.

The President of UOKiK monitors various markets for antitrust violations. The "open-source intelligence", that has been used by the Authority to gather information on the sporting goods market for several years, indicated that the British Trek Bicycle Corporation Limited may have been restricting its distributors from selling over the Internet and outside the country. The bikes of that manufacturer are well known in the international market which includes brands such as Elektra, Trek and Bontrager accessories. In Poland, they are sold by approximately 80 distributors who, prior to the intervention of the President of UOKiK, were only allowed to hand over the bicycles to customers at a stationary point of sale, even if the purchase was made online. The above regulations de facto resulted in a division of the market between the distributors by limiting the area of the dealerships' operation to their immediate vicinity, since consumers were not willing to travel long distances to collect their bicycles directly. Additionally, distributors were only allowed to sell bikes domestically and were not allowed to sell goods via online platforms such as Allegro.

"According to antitrust law, any conduct that restricts the territory and channel of sale of goods may be considered an agreement that limits competition. Market sharing falls within one of the categories of practices punishable by a sanction of up to 10 per cent of the turnover of the company. In exceptional cases, we may choose to waive the penalty. This is exactly what happened in the case of Trek, the British bicycle manufacturer, whose constructive attitude made it possible to quickly revert to the state of competition and conclude the proceedings, to the benefit of consumers and the market, " explains Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK. 

After the intervention of the President of the Office, the company amended the agreements, eliminating the provisions that were inconsistent with antitrust law. The European Union is striving to develop a single market by removing various types of barriers, for example when it comes to cross-border and online sales. The lack of barriers to online commerce allows consumers to explore a wide selection of goods and choose the ones best suited to themselves. This is why the President of UOKiK is paying close attention to many markets, especially the sporting goods market. Several activities are currently underway, including administrative proceedings against the Merida company.

If you are aware of any illegal arrangements at your former or current company, please notify UOKiK. The Office also runs a programme aimed at acquiring information from anonymous whistleblowers. Please visithttps://konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/ and fill in a simple form. The system used by the Office ensures that your identity is not revealed.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
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Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL