Rolex has been fined $100 million by France’s antitrust regulators because the luxury watchmaker has for a decade banned dealers from selling Rolex watches online, a restriction that is illegal in France.
French competition watchdog Autorite de la Concurrence rejected Rolex France’s arguments. Rolex France explained to the authorities that the ban on online sales is to combat counterfeiting and parallel imports.
Autorite de la Concurrence emphasized in a statement on Tuesday that Rolex’s illegal behavior is “very serious. It is equivalent to closing the marketing channel and harming the rights of consumers and retailers. The sale of luxury goods, including luxury watches, online has been a problem for the past 15 years.” , has prospered and developed.”
The French regulatory agency first received complaints and reports from the industry, and then conducted a surprise inspection of Rolex France. After the investigation was completed, it was decided to impose a fine of US$100 million. At the same time, Rolex is required to proactively notify dealers of the ruling results, and announce the results on its official website for at least seven consecutive days within the next two months.
