JD Sports fined 1.5 million pounds for fixing prices of football merchandise

UK sportswear giant JD Sports has been fined 1.5 million pounds by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for fixing the prices fans paid for Rangers FC merchandise.

The CMA found that the retailer, alongside Elite Sports, fixed the retail prices of “a number” of Rangers-branded replica kits and other clothing products from September 2018 to July 2019.

Elite Sports has been fined 459,000 pounds for its involvement.

Meanwhile, Rangers FC “also took part in the collusion but only to the extent of fixing the retail price of adult home short-sleeved replica shirts from September 2018 to mid-November 2018”. Rangers FC have been fined 225,000 pounds.

The CMA said all three firms “colluded to stop JD Sports undercutting the retail price of the shirt on Elite’s Gers Online store”.

JD Sports fined over price fixing

Michael Grenfell, the CMA’s executive director of enforcement, said in a statement: “At a time when many people are worried about the rising cost of living, it is important that football fans are able to benefit from competitively priced merchandise.

“Instead, Elite, JD Sports and, to some extent, Rangers, worked together to keep prices high.”

He said the decision “sends a clear message to football clubs and other businesses that illegal anti-competitive collusion will not be tolerated”.

Responding to the fine, JD Sports said it had “cooperated fully” with the CMA throughout its investigation and “will not be appealing against this penalty”.

But it added that “no directors or senior management of JD were involved in the offending conduct”, and said it “has taken a number of steps to strengthen its competition compliance programme and is committed to ensuring that this is embedded into its daily operations”.