Norway’s Competition Authority accuses Reitan Retail, Coop Norway, and Norgesgruppen of price collusion

Norway’s Competition Authority has accused three major players in the grocery sector of engaging in illegal price collusion. The authority claims that these companies exchanged significant amounts of pricing information through so-called price hunters, who are responsible for monitoring competitors’ prices using small computers.

Competition Authority Director Tina Søreide stated during a press conference that this behavior constitutes a serious violation of the law, which is reflected in the substantial fines proposed. She emphasized that these chains must cease the practices identified as collusion.

Reitan Retail, owner of Rema 1000, announced plans to appeal this decision, while Coop Norway and Norgesgruppen also reject the allegations of unlawful conduct. Together, these three companies control 95% of the Norwegian grocery market.

The head of business policy at Reitan Retail, Kårstein Eidem Løvaas, defended the practice of monitoring competitors’ prices as a part of healthy competition in all sectors. Coop Norway’s Managing Director, Philipp Engedal, maintains that they have not engaged in any illegal collaboration, while Norgesgruppen’s CEO, Runar Hollevik, stated that the use of price hunters has been publicly known since 2010 and that the authority has been informed throughout the process.

The investigation by the Competition Authority has been ongoing for nearly seven years. There have been concerns that competition among major grocery retailers has been insufficient, leading to higher prices. Following inspections in 2018, the authority warned of fines amounting to a total of 21 billion kroner against the three companies.

Recently, the authority dropped the most serious allegations but still upheld substantial fines: 1.3 billion kroner for Coop, 2.3 billion for Norgesgruppen, and 1.3 billion for Rema. Søreide reiterated that these conclusions serve as a clear message to businesses across all markets that price-related cooperation can quickly become illegal if it restricts competition.