Polish grocer Biedronka to appeal watchdog fine

Biedronka, the biggest food retailer in Poland baby food by market share, is to send off a lawful battle about a fine given on the business by the country's opposition guard dog.

UOKiK, Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, has hit Biedronka with a punishment of PLN723m (US$198.6m) for unjustifiably asking providers for limits.

The guard dog said Biedronka, possessed by Portugal-based retailer Jeronimo Martins, had requested the limits after agreements were agreed upon.

UOKiK said the solicitations - which it guaranteed impacted in excess of 200 providers, chiefly of leafy foods - were made "when it has become mindful of the deals results for a given period. They lead to a surprising cost decrease, [a] drop in acquiring results and edges as well as [hindering the] arranging of business procedure on the provider's part".

Producers acknowledged the requests, the guard dog asserted, on the grounds that they were compromised with fines. UOKiK added: "Because of Biedronka's market power, providers were tolerating horrible circumstances as they expected that end of the collaboration would bring about much greater monetary misfortunes."

Tomasz Chróstny, UOKiK's leader, demanded Biedronka was "applying an unreasonable system that comprised in erratic decrease of compensation for its counterparties for the conveyances made".

Chróstny added: "What is fundamental is that the extra limits acquired from food providers were not converted into lower costs of items for the Biedronka's clients. This is a totally inadmissible utilization of market power by the business organization. Considering the way that for the majority business substances the provisions for Biedronka comprise a huge creation volume, they were bearing gigantic expenses. The fine must be satisfactory to the break of regulations, troublesomeness of the training and level of advantages procured unjustifiably by the Portuguese organization."

Biedronka said it didn't acknowledge UOKiK's decision, nor the fine, depicting the judgment "one-sided, lack[ing] both legitimate and real grounds and is in this way unreasonable and uncalled for".

The retailer added: "UOKiK has arrived at such choice without seeing fair treatment of regulation and without paying attention to the providers in question. The greatest number of providers recognized for the situation are handled food providers. Conflictingly to what UOKiK declared, leafy foods providers are addressed in a tiny number and those addressed are for the most part dealers and merchants. UOKiK's choice shows misconception of the idea of business activities and of the elements of the inborn talks. The specific rebate openly referenced by UOKiK is as a matter of fact concurred forthright among parties and applied to the turnover of the characterized period.

"We will question this choice in court energetically, contentions and responsibility. We have certainty that the Polish courts will address this case with objectivity and fair-mindedness and that equity will be made."

UOKiK has likewise been dissecting limits acquired by different retailers working in Poland.

"The fine for Jeronimo Martins Polska - the proprietor of the Biedronka business organization - is the admonition for different organizations that comparable practices will be seriously fined by the power," Chróstny added. "The chance for the aversion of tormenting sanctions is the prompt difference in the components of retroactive limits negative for providers. The way from the maker to the customer goes through providers and venders, including business organizations - decency of connections among them and shared liability are the variables on which the dependability of ranches and foodstuff makers, the improvement of the whole rural and food area as well as the food security of Poland depends."