Sennheiser Slapped with a Six Million Euro Penalty for Underhand Price-Fixing
Unlawful Deals: Sennheiser Faces Hefty Multi-Million Penalty - Sennheiser faces a hefty million-dollar penalty
Here's some hot tea for you audiophiles out there: Sennheiser, the brand that's got you grooving with sick beats, is in some serious hot water for trying to pull a fast one on consumers. The Federal Cartel Office has caught 'em red-handed fixing prices, leaving them millions of euros lighter in the wallet.
You see, these sly dogs at Sennheiser, headquartered in Wedemark near Hannover, have been keeping a choking leash on their retailers. They've been keeping a close eye on who's selling their products ridiculously cheap and then strong-arming them to up their game. If you know, you know.
The Federal Cartel Office isn't playing around, either. They've found plenty of evidence that Sennheiser's ain't just playing by the rules but rather bending them to their will. Employees at the company received competition law training, but instead of playing it straight, they turned into sneaky snakes, hiding their illegal activities under a rock.
Three managers and Sonova Consumer, a Swiss hearing aid company who took over Sennheiser's consumer business back in 2022, have also been roped into the fiasco. It appears that ol' Sennheiser's bad behavior wasn't quite eradicated with a change in ownership – it simply went unsolved until the Federal Cartel Office put the hammer down in September 2022.
- Sennheiser
- Sonova Consumer
- Price-fixing
- Fine
- Germany
- Antitrust laws
- Federal Cartel Office
- Hannover
Sources:
- Bundeskartellamt (2023, January 19). Bundeskartellamt fines Sennheiser millions due to price fixing. Retrieved from https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/en/press/press-releases/2023-01-19-bundeska...
- The Verge (2023, January 19). Sennheiser fined €6 million for price fixing in Germany. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/19/23564862/sennheiser-fined-germany-price-f...
- The six million euro fine imposed on Sennheiser, a popular audio brand based in Hannover, Germany, was a result of price-fixing violations outlined by the Federal Cartel Office.
- Sonova Consumer, which took over Sennheiser's consumer business in 2022, has also been implicated in the ongoing antitrust case, along with three specific managers at Sennheiser.
- To evade detection, Sennheiser employees received competition law training but allegedly used this knowledge to engage in illegal activities, intentionally avoiding industry standards.
- This penalty demonstrates the Federal Cartel Office's commitment to enforcing antitrust laws and protecting businesses and consumers from price manipulation and unfair competition practices.
