The reason for the legally binding decision is the abuse of the dominant market position in addressed mass printed matter by the partially state-owned, listed company. Accordingly, the Swiss Post acted discriminatoryly with its discount practices at Info.Mail by granting limited discount scales, smaller discounts or annual bonuses to certain customers. “It also imposed a confidentiality obligation on Info.Mail in connection with discount scales and discount rates that were agreed with major customers,” the Federal Competition Authority (BWB) said in a statement on Tuesday. The cartel court found that Post’s market share in the Info.Mail market is over 90 percent and that the company is therefore dominant.
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As the BWB emphasized today, the postal service cooperated fully with the authority and submitted a corresponding acknowledgment. “The company therefore contributed to the faster conclusion of the proceedings, which is why the BWB requested that a reduced fine of 9.2 million euros be imposed,” the Federal Competition Authority states.
The cartel court’s decision was preceded by an application from several companies to stop abusive behavior due to discriminatory discount practices by the post office. Applications for an injunction were also filed. The cartel court rejected the applications for an interim injunction, but granted the request for a discontinuance. Consequently, the postal service fought the antitrust court’s decision and filed an appeal with the Supreme Court as the antitrust court. However, the court did not accept the appeal, according to the BWB.