Several companies in the Intermarché distribution group are being sued before the Paris Commercial Court for "
abusive commercial practices
" vis-à-vis 93 of their suppliers, the Ministry of the Economy announced on Friday in a press release, which requests a sanction of 150.75 million euros.
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This assignment concerns the group's “
international
centers”, dedicated to purchasing, listing or services, such as Agecore and Intermarché Belgique, and results from an investigation carried out by the Directorate-General for Competition and Consumer Affairs. and the repression of fraud (DGCCRF) since 2018, it is specified.
In this context, an “
in-depth examination of numerous contracts and documents
” was carried out, revealing that “
since the creation of Agecore in 2016, Intermarché has imposed on numerous suppliers, by various means of pressure - order stoppages, de-listing of brands, etc.
- the prior conclusion of an international contract with Agecore, then with Intermarché Belgium, in order to continue to distribute their products in the Intermarché network in France
”.
"
The two powerhouses invoice (...) these suppliers large sums in return for commercial cooperation services, such as targeted promotional or advertising operations,
" said this press release.
These agreements "
disrupt the loyalty of commercial relations
", affirms Bercy, who asks the commercial court "
to pronounce a sanction of 150.75 million euros, commensurate with the seriousness of the practices denounced and corresponding to 1% of the turnover achieved by Intermarché in France
”.
"An entry fee without real consideration"
For the DGCCRF, "
the suppliers are not asking for these services with low commercial impact, which are also superimposed on those they already finance at national level for the same services
".
It is therefore, according to her, "
in reality rather a dressing for the payment which is therefore akin to a right to enter into negotiations without real economic compensation
".
Indeed "
their costs greatly exceed the increase in turnover that they are supposed to bring
", observes the Ministry of the Economy, pointing to "
amounts improperly obtained
" by Intermarché,
"in violation of the French law governing commercial relations
”.
At the end of August 2020, the Belgian purchasing center co-owned by E.Leclerc, Eurelec, was fined 6.34 million euros by the Repression of Fraud for Illicit Commercial Practices, after being assigned to the civil for 117.3 million euros.
In February, Carrefour, Système U and Intermarché were also sanctioned.
