Italy opens antitrust probes into Swatch and Citizen pricing practices

Italy’s antitrust regulator has launched 2 abstracted investigations into Swiss-based watchmaker The Swatch Group and Japan’s Citizen Watch.

The inquiries volition analyse whether the companies restricted contention connected retail prices for watches sold successful the country.

The Italian Competition Authority has opened proceedings against Citizen Watch Italy and its genitor company, Citizen Watch, arsenic good arsenic The Swatch Group (Italia) and its parent, The Swatch Group.

The cases interest suspected breaches of Article 101 of the Treaty connected the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits anti-competitive agreements.

The investigations absorption connected the alleged coordination of retail prices published online by authorised dealers, including jewellers and specializer ticker retailers.

According to the authority, Citizen, which distributes brands specified arsenic Citizen, Bulova, Vagary, Frédérique Constant and Alpina, is suspected of directing members of its selective organisation web to adhere to specified retail prices.

The institution is besides alleged to person tracked the pricing behaviour of its distributors and to person adopted “retaliatory commercialized measures” against those who applied discounts oregon diverged from the indicated prices.

Similar concerns person been raised regarding Swatch, which sells brands including Swatch, Tissot, Mido and Hamilton.

The regulator alleges that Swatch whitethorn beryllium imposing fixed retail prices for its selective organisation web and monitoring whether retailers travel those prices.

It besides claims Swatch whitethorn retaliate against distributors that neglect to comply with these pricing requirements.

The authorization stated that the pricing practices of some groups mightiness represent resale terms maintenance, which is considered a hardcore regularisation nether Article 4(a) of Commission Regulation.

As a result, these practices could perchance infringe Article 101 of the TFEU.

In aboriginal December 2025, officials from the Italian Competition Authority, supported by the Special Antitrust Unit of the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza), carried retired inspections astatine the offices of Citizen Watch Italy and The Swatch Group (Italia) arsenic portion of the ongoing probes.

"Italy opens antitrust probes into Swatch and Citizen pricing practices " was primitively created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand.

The accusation connected this tract has been included successful bully religion for wide informational purposes only. It is not intended to magnitude to proposal connected which you should rely, and we springiness nary representation, warranty oregon guarantee, whether explicit oregon implied arsenic to its accuracy oregon completeness. You indispensable get nonrecreational oregon specializer proposal earlier taking, oregon refraining from, immoderate enactment connected the ground of the contented connected our site.