Private labels: The French Minister of Economy rules on unilateral effects and competition between suppliers’ brands and distributors’ private labels (Lesieur/Puget)

*This article is an automatic translation of the original article, provided here for your convenience. Read the original article. – Min. Éco, November 18, 2004, Lesieur / Puget, aff. C2004-130 On 18 November 2004, Lesieur's proposed acquisition of several Puget assets from Unilever Bestfoods France, including in particular the olive oil brands "Puget Classique", "Puget Sélection douce", "Puget Sélection fruitée" and "Puget Héritage", was approved by the French Minister of the Economy, subject to conditions. With regard to the definition of relevant markets, the Minister identified two relevant markets in which the parties were simultaneously present: (i) the upstream market for the supply of olive oil, and (ii) the downstream market for the marketing of olive oil to consumers,