Based on the information it has collected so far, the Agency for the Protection of Competition (AZK) has not found evidence that large retail chains in Montenegro agree on prices.
This was officially told to the "News" from this Agency, but it was not specified when the examination procedure they started in August 2023 will end.
"The agency, in accordance with the competences from Article 19 paragraph 2 point 1 and Article 40 of the Law on the Protection of Competition, monitors and analyzes the conditions of competition on individual markets with the aim of determining the functioning of the market in which certain activities are performed. In this regard, at the end of 2023, we started analyzing the conditions of competition on the market in question. For the purpose of examining the relevant market, the Agency began collecting data and information from the largest trade chains operating in Montenegro, for the period from 2019 to 2024. The investigation of the market in question was launched in order, among other things, to see if there was a possible violation of the Law on the Protection of Competition by participants in this market", they stated from AZK.
As they clarified, it should be borne in mind that the Agency is not a sectoral regulator and that it cannot influence the formation, level of prices and inflation.
"When it comes to the results of the research of this market, we point out that in the previous period, a large amount of data, information and documentation necessary for determining the factual situation was collected and is continuously being collected, in order to draw conclusions as to whether there was a possible violation of the regulations under the Agency's jurisdiction . Until this moment, the Agency cannot confirm the existence of concrete evidence that would point to possible prohibited agreements in this market. However, given that we continuously monitor this market, if we find concrete evidence that would indicate a violation of the Law on Protection of Competition by companies, they will be sanctioned without delay at the level of the Agency", they said in AZK.
The Agency stated that they have shown determination to prohibit any violation of competition and expertise to respond to all the challenges it faces.
"What was shown by the initiation and establishment of cartels on the telecommunications market in Montenegro. On any market, and especially on this one, if we come across concrete evidence that the regulations governing this area are being violated, we will initiate the appropriate procedures that are under the Agency's competence", they state from this institution.
The largest retail chains have seen a significant increase in total revenue and profit in recent years, and data from financial reports show that their net profit grew at significantly higher rates compared to revenue growth.
The six largest retail chains (Voli, HD Laković, Idea CG, Domača trgovina, Franca markets and Mega promet), as well as one of the largest importers of food and other necessities (Stadion), had a total revenue of 1,08 billion euros last year, which is an increase of 16 percent compared to 930 million revenues from 2022. Last year, those seven companies had a net profit of 35,5 million euros, that is, it increased by 62 percent compared to 21,9 million from the previous year.
Compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019, the turnover of the same companies last year was 50 percent higher, and the net profit was increased by 125 percent. In the same period from the beginning of 2019 to the end of 2023, aggregate inflation, according to Monstat, was 28 percent.
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