Luxottica fined by French antitrust authority

Luxottica Group, part of the EssilorLuxottica corporation, has been fined €125 million by the French Competition Authority (FCA) for unfairly controlling the prices opticians could charge for its eyewear products between 2005 and 2014.

The FCA stated: ‘These practices, anticompetitive in aim, are serious. Specifically, they entailed the use of mechanisms of surveillance and reprisal. Moreover, they affected consumers, some of them captive and vulnerable, given that eye-glasses and, in some cases, sunglasses, are a necessity.’

EssilorLuxottica acknowledged the decision and said it will appeal with the belief that the decision is wrong from both a factual and legal point of view.