Business case
A number of companies active in the food sector participated in a long-lasting cartel. An investigation led by the French Competition Authority concluded with a finding of an infringement and substantial fines for the participants. It paved the way for customers of those companies to claim damages for the overcharges paid. Our client, a national chain of supermarkets, required economic assistance to assess the damages it had incurred during that period.
In cases involving several levels of the supply chain, it is essential to integrate the factual context of how negotiations take place and how prices are determined. Combining this with rigorous economic analysis helps produce robust findings that can withstand scrutiny from the opposing party and ultimately support a successful claim.
We used well-established economic techniques to estimate the extent to which the cartel increased prices beyond their competitive levels during the relevant period. Our work also focused on analysing the degree to which price increases were absorbed by the chain of supermarkets instead of passed on to final consumers, thereby reducing the overall damage incurred.