Domestic Lighting: anti-competitive practices concerning resale price maintenance
The CMA has found anti-competitive practices which infringed Chapter I CA98 relating to the supply of domestic lighting products by Dar Lighting Limited (Company Number 05270864) which infringe Chapter I CA98.
Case timetable
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 21 June 2022 | Non-confidential version of the infringement decision published |
| 23 March 2022 | Infringement decision issued to party and settlement announced |
| February 2022 | Party offered to settle investigation with CMA |
| January 2022 to Q2 2022 | Receipt and consideration of representations on the statement of objections |
| 15 December 2021 | Statement of objections issued |
| June 2021 to Q4 2021 | Further investigation including information gathering. CMA analysis and review |
| June 2021 | Decision taken to proceed with the investigation |
| November 2020 to May 2021 | Initial investigation: information gathering, including issuing formal or informal information requests, receipt, review and analysis of parties’ responses |
| 25 November 2020 | Investigation opened |
Non-confidential version of the infringement decision
21 June 2022: The CMA has published a non-confidential version of the decision in this case, in which Dar Lighting Limited (Dar) was fined £1.5 million for breaking competition law by engaging in resale price maintenance (RPM).
Read our short case study summarising the case on Dar Lighting fined £1.5 million for illegally preventing online price discounts.
- (21.6.22)
Settlement and infringement decision
23 March 2022: The CMA has issued a decision finding that Dar Lighting Limited (Dar) infringed competition law by engaging in resale price maintenance (RPM). The CMA imposed a fine of £1.5 million. As the parent company of Dar for the relevant period, Castlegate 624 Limited is jointly and severally liable for Dar’s fine. The fine includes a 20% discount to reflect settlement. Under these procedures, a company admits acting illegally and co-operates in return for a reduced fine, which helps make the CMA’s investigation more efficient.
- Press release: Dar Lighting fined after ignoring warnings on restricting discounts (23.3.22)
Statement of objections
15 December 2021: The CMA issued a statement of objections alleging that Dar Lighting Limited (Dar) has breached UK law by restricting retailers’ freedom to discount the online retail prices of domestic lighting products supplied by Dar.
- News story: CMA provisionally finds lighting firm illegally banned discounts (16.12.21)
Case information
On 25 November 2020, the CMA launched an investigation into suspected breaches of competition law in respect of the supply of domestic lighting products. The investigation relates to suspected resale price maintenance in the supply of domestic lighting products in the UK by Dar Lighting Limited.
Notes
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The investigation is under Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998.
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The CMA has not reached a view as to whether there is sufficient evidence of an infringement of competition law for it to issue a statement of objections to any party under investigation. Not all cases result in the CMA issuing a statement of objections.
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Changes to the timing of original entries in the case timetable will be made where the estimated timing changes.
Personal data
The CMA may collect, use and share personal data for its investigations, including investigations under the Competition Act 1998. This includes processing personal data for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
For more information about how the CMA handles personal information, please see the CMA’s Personal Information Charter.
Contacts
Assistant Project Director
Sophie Mitchell (020 3738 6905, sophie.mitchell@cma.gov.uk)
Project Director
Simon Nichols (020 3738 6368, simon.nichols@cma.gov.uk)
Senior Responsible Officer
Ann Pope (020 3738 6786, ann.pope@cma.gov.uk)
Anyone with information about suspected anti-competitive activity is encouraged to tell the CMA about a competition or market problem.
Last updated 21 June 2022 + show all updates
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Non-confidential decision published.
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Settlement and infringement decision published.
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Statement of objections announced.
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Case timetable updated.
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Following technical difficulties with GOV.UK, the case page is now available.
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First published.