Fines totalling €115m have been imposed on five leading lens manufacturers in Germany, seven of their employees and Germany's Central Association of Optometrists (ZVA) for their alleged involvement in cartel agreements to fix lens prices.
The German divisions of Rodenstock, Carl Zeiss Vision (CZV), Essilor, Rupp+Hubrach and Hoya were fined by the Bundeskartellamt (BKA), Germany's national competition regulator on June 10 which claimed the companies maintained two different types of anticompetitive agreements.
According to the BKA, the five manufacturers met on a regular basis since the year 2000 to coordinate their competitive behaviour. Through the HERRZ group, whose name corresponds to the first letters of the participating companies, the BKA alleged that the companies agreed on price surcharges as well as conditions, bonuses and discounts granted to opticians. In addition they are purported to have regularly informed each other of specific measures such as upcoming price increases.
The BKA also claimed that in another group, the ZVA pricing structure working group, the five manufacturers agreed on non-binding price recommendations for opticians. The BKA added that the majority of German opticians set their sales prices for ophthalmic lenses on the basis of these recommendations.
BKA president Andreas Mundt said: 'The price agreements of the manufacturers of ophthalmic lenses have for years virtually paralysed competition in this market. The companies agreed on a regular basis to raise prices demanded from opticians. In the end the consumers had to pay the bill, because the price increases were passed on to them.'
Rodenstock was granted a considerable reduction of its fine for cooperation with the proceedings, the fines of Hoya, CZV and the ZVA were also reduced on account of their cooperation in the proceedings.
In a company statement Essilor said that it contested the validity of the BKA's conclusions as well as the amount of the fine which amounts to €50m for Essilor Germany and Rupp+Hubrach Optik, and planned to appeal.
The statement said: 'Essilor is fully committed to the principle of free competition. The company applies a zero tolerance approach to anti-competitive practices and expects all members of its organisation to behave in an exemplary manner in this regard.'