Competition risk compliance

In the back offices of Europe’s most celebrated fashion houses, an autumn morning turned sour on 14 October 2025. Overnight, the European Commission announced a €157 million fine against Gucci, Chloé and Loewe for imposing resale price maintenance (RPM) on their independent retailers across the European Economic Area. The ruling sent a clear signal: protecting brand equity can never override the fundamental EU principle that distributors must be free to set their own prices.

What happened and why it matters

The case began with dawn raids in April 2023 and culminated in a decision that echoes earlier luxury-sector fines (Guess, Nike, Pierre Cardin). The Commission found that so-called “recommended” retail prices functioned in practice as rigid price instructions. The brands also controlled discount windows, limited promotional depth and, in Gucci’s case, blocked a high-margin product line from being sold online.

When guidance becomes instruction

Picture a manager at a small Milanese fashion boutique. Each season she receives a slick “brand integrity kit” from a luxury supplier. It lists recommended retail prices, sample newsletters, a calendar of flash-sale dates and a discreet memo: “We trust our partners will respect these guidelines to maintain our shared image.” Last winter she tried a 20 percent Black Friday discount to clear inventory. Within hours her account manager called, reminding her that “premium brands cannot afford race-to-the-bottom pricing.” She rolled back the promotion. Two years later that phone call helped the Commission start and investigation.

RPM, selective distribution and the bright line in EU law

RPM is a hardcore restriction under Article 101 TFEU and is almost always prohibited. A supplier may:

• Operate a selective distribution network (choose authorised retailers, set quality standards, monitor service levels).
• Suggest non-binding recommended retail prices (RRPs) or maximum prices.

A supplier may not:

• Fix or threaten to fix a retailer’s minimum price.
• Impose blanket caps on discounts.
• Link online marketplace access or promotional budgets to price obedience.

The distinction is simple yet frequently blurred. Leadership teams who equate price control with brand control create antitrust exposure that erodes the very equity they want to safeguard.

Lessons for C-suite and compliance officers

1. Compliance is a growth accelerator. Clear antitrust guardrails let commercial teams innovate promotions and partnerships without legal rework.
2. Emails are exhibits. Anything that turns “recommended” into “required” will surface in an investigation. Written scripts, WhatsApp chats, playbooks and Slack messages are all discoverable.
3. Cross-functional ownership is essential. Legal cannot police every conversation. Sales, e-commerce and brand managers need actionable rules embedded in daily workflows.

Five-day crash plan for competition risk compliance

Day 1: Stress-test commercial templates

• Review price guidance, promotion calendars, outlet policies and marketplace rules.
• Flag any text that nudges RPM (“must”, “cannot discount below”, “approval required”).

Day 2: Rewrite playbooks with do/don’t clarity

• Provide concrete examples: Resale recommended prices vs Resale price maintenance, indicative discount periods vs fixed windows, affiliate marketing dos and don’ts.
• Adopt language so sales teams recognise red flags in real time.

Day 3: Instrument traceability

• Centralise retailer communications in a searchable repository.
• Set alerts where advice starts to look like instruction.

Day 4: Train frontline negotiators

• Short, role-based micro-learning beats 50-slide legal decks.
• Simulate tough price-pressure scenarios and safe exit phrases.

Day 5: Embed compliance-by-design in go-to-market plans

• Make antitrust checkpoints a mandatory stage in every product launch, influencer drop or flash sale.
• Align KPIs, so no manager is rewarded for price policing.

How technology raises the bar

Paper policies alone cannot keep pace with omnichannel commerce. Platforms like Naltilia leverage AI to:

• Map antitrust risk by scanning internal and external documents.
• Automate remediation workflows to prevent sales scripts crossing the red line, assigning tasks and deadlines to accountable managers.
• Generate tailor-made policies that reflect the latest EU guidance and local standards.
• Maintain auditable records of approvals, training completion and policy acknowledgements.

By combining automated data collection with a living risk map, compliance officers move from detective mode to preventive mode.

Myth to retire

“We must control prices to protect the brand.”

Reality: brand value is built on curated networks, superior service and compelling product cadence, not on enforced uniform pricing. Sustainable growth loves legal clarity.

Frequently asked questions

Is any form of price guidance legal? Yes, suppliers may issue non-binding RRPs or maximum prices. The problem arises when incentives, threats or monitoring convert guidance into obligation.

Can I restrict discounts during a product’s launch period? A shourt and justified launch windows may be acceptable if they do not amount to a fixed minimum price and are proportionate. Seek specific legal advice.

Our distributors complain about price erosion online. What are safe tools? You can invest in quality-based selective distribution, improve after-sales service and differentiate SKUs, but you cannot set or enforce minimum resale prices.

Does UNE 19603 apply outside Spain? Formally it is a Spanish standard, but multinationals adopt it as a best-practice blueprint to show regulators across the EU that they run a robust antitrust compliance programme.

Move faster with transparent guardrails

European competition authorities have shown once again that RPM is a high-fine, high-visibility offence. Luxury is merely the latest headline. Whether you sell fashion, food supplements or SaaS, the rule is identical: design your growth playbook around price freedom.

Naltilia can help your team convert that rule into an automated, auditable reality. Request a demo and discover how AI-powered risk mapping, remediation tracking and policy generation turn compliance into a strategic advantage.