John Lewis, Debenhams and House of Fraser have been cleared of price fixing of Britain’s most popular sports bras after a two-year investigation by the Office of Fair Trading and Competition & Markets Authority.
The retailers have been let off the hook after investigators took evidence from the companies and from bra-maker DB Apparel, which sells Wonderbra and Playtex brands.
False allegations centred on nine separate agreements made between stores and suppliers in 2008 and 2011 to set minimum pricing on £40 Shock Absorber bras, famously advertised by Russian former tennis star Anna Kournikova.
But today Philip Marsden, chairman of the case decision group, said: “The CMA treats allegations of resale price maintenance very seriously, as it may restrict competition and mean consumers pay more than necessary.
“However, having carefully reviewed the evidence in this case… we have decided that there are no grounds for action by the CMA.”
It is the second investigation DB Apparel’s parent company Sun European Partners has faced in the past few months, after its furniture businesses SCS and Dreams, along with others, agreed to stop artificially ramping up the level of discounts.
Price fixing in retail is fairly uncommon. However, several supermarkets admitted to fixing cheese and milk prices in 2007.
