Competitor Monster welcomed investigations and accuses Red Bull of “using anti-competitive tactics”.
According to insiders, the visit of the EU competition watchdog to Red Bull is likely to be related to the company’s market power. This is also indicated by the fact that house searches only took place at Red Bull. In the case of classic cartels and price fixing, raids on several companies usually take place at the same time. It is considered probable that the authority has received indications of competition violations. Competitor Monster Energy welcomed the investigation.
In principle, the EU Commission can initiate investigations on its own initiative, or it follows up on information and complaints. In Tuesday’s press release, the Commission referred to both Article 101 (cartel formation) and Article 102 (abuse of market power). It is not known whether there is a key witness in the investigation. This might also explain why only Red Bull was looked into.
Red Bull and the EU competition authority have so far held back with information. Red Bull confirmed on Tuesday that it had received visits from EU officials and employees of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority (BWB) and stressed that it was working with the authorities. The raids began on Monday and took place in several European countries, not just at the headquarters in Fuschl am See in Salzburg.
According to a report by specialist service MLex, the allegations center on Red Bull’s dealings with retailers and that the company may have tried to secure favorable treatment for its own drinks to the detriment of its competitors.
Red Bull is number one in Europe for energy drinks, but faces competition from other manufacturers looking to gain market share.
The biggest competitor is Monster Energy from the USA, which welcomed the cartel investigations once morest Red Bull in a statement. “We believe that Red Bull’s deliberate use of anti-competitive tactics unfairly deprives consumers of the benefits of our core offering. We are therefore not surprised that the European Commission has opened an investigation and we support its investigation,” said the company Coca Cola is involved on Tuesday.
It is not unusual for investigations by the EU Commission to target only one company, especially when it comes to allegations of abuse of market power. Current examples of this are the investigations once morest Apple, which affect the App Store and Apple Pay.
In any case, the large food retail chains in Austria are not involved in the investigation into Red Bull. “We don’t know anything regarding this,” said Billa and Penny’s mother Rewe on Wednesday when asked by APA. Spar said the matter did not affect Austria and Austrian trade at all. “That apparently affects Luxembourg/Belgium. That’s where the European competition authority came from,” said a Spar spokeswoman.