Undercover Price Control: Sennheiser Still Faces a Million-Euro Fine from the Cartel Office after Sale to Sonova
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Sennheiser allegedly controlled the pricing of premium headphones for years, as per Andreas Mundt, the head of the Federal Cartel Office (FCO). The price manipulations supposedly began as far back as 2015.
Specifically, Sennheiser would step in when products were sold below the suggested retail price (SRP), nudging traders into price adjustments. The FCO claims this was a common practice, supported by the traders involved. Mundt highlighted that Sennheiser employees were even furnished with cartel law training. Unfortunately, instead of following cartel law principles, they used this knowledge to mask the price-fixing scheme.
Sennheiser's infraction didn't end with its initial transgression. Even after being taken over by the German subsidiary of Swiss hearing aid manufacturer Sonova in 2022, the illegal price agreements continued. This acquisition consisted of Sennheiser's consumer electronics division, including the retailing of headphones to end-users. The illicit agreements persisted between March and September 2022, until the FCO finally intervened with a raid.
- Sennheiser electronic
- Price Manipulation
- Federal Cartel Office
- Headphones
- Million-Euro Fine
- Penalty
- Cartel Office
- Andreas Mundt
- Sonova
[1] Bundeskartellamt Imposes 6 Million Euro Fine on Sennheiser for Price Fixing (Reuters, 2023)[2] Sennheiser Fined for Price Fixing: What You Need to Know (CNET, 2023)
- Sennheiser electronic continues to grapple with repercussions following an alleged price manipulation scheme in the headphones industry, as the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has imposed a penalty of 6 million Euros in 2023.
- Andreas Mundt, the head of the Federal Cartel Office, has indicated that the price-fixing arrangements by Sennheiser started as early as 2015 and extended even after its acquisition by Sonova in 2022.
- Price Manipulation of premium headphones by Sennheiser is the focus of an investigation by the Federal Cartel Office, with evidence suggesting that employees were provided with cartel law training despite using it to mask illegal agreements.
- The illicit agreements between Sennheiser and traders in the industry persisted from March to September 2022, resulting in a raided intervention by the Cartel Office.
- Despite being taken over by the Swiss hearing aid manufacturer Sonova in 2022, Sennheiser still faces a million-euro fine from the Cartel Office for continuing the illegal price arrangements in the finance, business, and fintech industry.
