Bundeskartellamt safeguards freedom to set prices for guitars

Following investigations by the Bundeskartellamt into suspected illegal resale price maintenance, the Spanish guitar manufacturer, Manufacturas Alhambra S.L., has distanced itself from possibly influencing the pricing policy of retailers of its guitars.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “Manufacturers may only make non-binding price recommendations to retailers of their products. The retailers are independent and free to decide what price to ask from their customers. Vertical price-fixing has been prohibited since the seventies. Yet we are consistently confronted with attempts by manufacturers in a wide variety of sectors to set sales prices.”

The Bundeskartellamt had followed up suspicions that Alhambra had pressurised wholesalers and retailers into maintaining a minimum price level for the sale of Alhambra guitars in Germany and had ordered various retailers to raise their end customer prices.

In August 2020, in reaction to the Bundeskartellamt’s investigations into possible resale price maintenance, Alhambra sent out an updated price list to its retailers in Germany. In the list prices are clearly indicated and for the first time transparent to consumers as recommended retail prices (RRP). In addition the company made it clear in a circular to its retailers that it was left to their sole discretion to set their sales prices and that Alhambra would not influence their pricing policy.

The Bundeskartellamt has now discontinued its proceeding against the company.