The Belgian Competition Authority dismisses a complaint from the Union of Belgian French-speaking Booksellers alleging an abuse of dominance and the existence of a cartel between two book distributors (Dilibel)

Neyrinck, Norman; Côme, Anne-Sophie

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20 Oct 2009

The Belgian Competition Authority dismisses a complaint from the Union of Belgian French-speaking Booksellers alleging an abuse of dominance and the existence of a cartel between two book distributors (Dilibel)

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Reference

Belgian Competition Authority, Dilibel, Decision n° 2009- P/K-24-AUD, 20 October 2009 (French)

1. The parties The “Union of Belgian French-speaking Booksellers” (hereinafter “UBFB”) is a non-profit organization which represents and defends the interests of the Belgian French-speaking booksellers. It represents 60% of French-speaking booksellers of Belgium. Dilibel Plc. is a subsidiary of the Hachette Livre Group (publ.). It is the exclusive marketer-distributor of this group. 2. Facts A large majority of books sold in the French-speaking part of Belgium are imported from France. According to UBFB, two firms, Dilibel and Interforum, approximatively represent 60% of these imports altogether. Those two firms act respectively as exclusive distributors for Hachette Livre Group and Editis Group, two major French publishers. The price charged by Dilibel and Interforum to Belgian

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Authors

Norman Neyrinck
Lexing (Liège)

Belgium 20 contributions 15927 visits
Anne-Sophie Côme
Université de Grenoble Alpes - INP

France 1 contribution 1126 visits

Quotation

Norman Neyrinck, Anne-Sophie Côme, The Belgian Competition Authority dismisses a complaint from the Union of Belgian French-speaking Booksellers alleging an abuse of dominance and the existence of a cartel between two book distributors (Dilibel), 20 October 2009, e-Competitions October 2009, Art. N° 31035

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