Hypermarkets Tottus SA and Cencosud Retail Peru SA reject the accusation of the Indecopi of having arranged the prices in the commercialization market of the San Fernando brand turkey during the months of December 2009 to 2016.
Tottus He denied in a statement that he had participated in the agreement between the companies to set the prices for the sale of the whole turkey during the years 2010 to 2013, 2015 and 2016.
“We reject all kinds of practices that threaten the market and the consumer. We categorically deny having incurred in the accusations made by the Commission in the first instance, for which Tottus will present the pertinent appeals for review with a view to reversing this decision”mentions.
In this line, the company emphasizes that they carry out their activities in strict compliance with the legal framework and the rules of free competition.
Cencosud, for their part, also deny having been involved in the alleged price collusion. In this sense, they expressed their disagreement with what was resolved in the first instance by the Commission for the Defense of Free Competition of Indecopi and will appeal its ruling.
“In our opinion, the ruling of Resolution No. 014-2022/CLC-Indecopi is based on an interpretation that does not consider the characteristics of the commercialization of whole San Fernando turkey in the market. Therefore, in order to clarify the facts under investigation and dispel any doubts about our participation in the Peruvian market, we will continue to provide the necessary information and actively collaborate with the relevant authorities.” states your statement.
In addition, they add that the company carries out its activities under the highest standards of compliance, with internal protocols and policies that reject any infringement of the rules of free competition and ensure proper compliance.
What was the Indecopi sanction?
The Commission for the Defense of Free Competition of Indecopi (CLC) sanctioned a fine of S/17,240,000 to Cencosud Retail Peru SA, Hipermercados Tottus SA, Makro Supermayorista SA and Supermercados Peruanos SA for fixing prices in the marketing market of San Fernando brand whole turkey nationally during past Christmas seasons. The sanction also includes the San Fernando company for having facilitated this agreement.
The infraction consisted of setting a minimum price for the whole turkey, with respect to which the companies aligned their prices to keep them artificially high during the months of December, between 2009 and 2016, which covered the agreement, according to statements, emails and economic information. obtained by the National Directorate of Investigation and Promotion of Free Competition.
In addition to this, the participation of San Fernando during the 2015 and 2016 Christmas campaigns as facilitator of the cartel was accredited, which was in charge of communicating the minimum price to self-service stores, transferring information and claims between them and seeking compliance with the agreement. Thus, each self-service conditioned its respect of the minimum price to compliance by the rest of the competitors.
