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OFT welcomes the Competition Appeal Tribunal's judgments on replica kit price-fixing

162/04    1 October 2004

The OFT welcomes the judgments given today by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) on the appeals brought by Allsports Ltd and JJB Sports plc upholding the OFT's decision that the parties had illegally fixed prices of replica football kits.

The CAT upheld the vast majority of the findings contained in the OFT decision and confirms that both parties did engage in price-fixing.

Welcoming the judgments, John Vickers, OFT Chairman, said:

'Of the 10 parties that were found to have engaged in price-fixing agreements on replica football kit, only JJB and Allsports appealed against the finding. The CAT has upheld the OFT's decision that they broke competition law. 

'This case sends a clear message about price-fixing agreements and shows how competition law works for consumers. At the start of Euro 2000, before the OFT began its investigation, it was very difficult to buy an adult short-sleeved England shirt for less than £39.99. By the time of Euro 2004, England shirts were widely available for as little as £25. That's real savings for fans.'

Among the findings of the CAT was that the chairman of JJB and the chief executive of Allsports personally agreed, in private, to fix the price of the Manchester United home shirt launched in August 2000.

The CAT's judgments today are about the issue of whether competition law was breached. The CAT will now proceed with the second phase of hearings in the appeals, concerning the level of penalties imposed upon four of the 10 parties in the OFT decision.

The judgment can be found on the CAT website.

NOTES

1. The OFT published its decision on Price Fixing of Replica Kit on 1 August 2003 (press release 107/03). The decision found that a number of sportswear retailers (including but not limited to Allsports Ltd and JJB Sports plc), Manchester United plc, the Football Association Ltd and Umbro Holdings Ltd had entered into price fixing agreements in relation to replica football kit infringing the Chapter I prohibition contained in section 2 of the Competition Act 1998.  Financial penalties totalling £18.6 million were imposed in respect of the infringements.  A copy of the full decision is available on the CA98 Public Register section of the OFT.

2. Appeals against the OFT decision were brought by Umbro Holdings Ltd, Manchester United plc, Allsports Ltd, and JJB Sports plc.  JJB Sports plc and Allsports Ltd appealed against both the findings of liability (i.e. the issue of whether they were party to the price fixing agreements) and the imposition and the levels of penalties imposed.  The appeals brought by Umbro Holdings Ltd and Manchester United plc were confined to the issue of the imposition and the levels of penalties imposed.

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