The Israel Competitors Authority introduced in the present day that Yochananof advertising and marketing chain proprietor and CEO Eitan Yochananof, his deputy Elad Harazi and supervisor of the Tremendous Bareket grocery store chain Ephraim Tshuva are being given a listening to earlier than an indictment is filed in opposition to them on suspicion of cartel preparations. The Yochananof chain itself may even be given a listening to.
As well as the Israel Competitors Authority additionally introduced that the CEO and proprietor of the Victory grocery store chain Eyal Ravid can also be suspected of further offenses of cartel preparations, after public feedback that he made.
Victory and Yochananof have notified the Tel Aviv Inventory Alternate (TASE) concerning the announcement of the Israel Competitors Authority.
Ravid, who has been investigated six occasions by the Competitors Authority lately, is suspected of constructing cartel preparations with Harazi, the deputy CEO of Yochananof, in keeping with which they might not provide promotions to shoppers whereas the market was stagnating, in order that there wouldn’t be harm to their market share. This concerned coordinating costs between the chains, in order that the costs wouldn’t fall. Ravid and Harazi are suspected of cartel offenses, whereas Yochananof is suspected of offenses associated to managerial accountability.
An extra allegation in opposition to Ravid is value fixing by means of suppliers and never straight. The regulation on the promotion of competitors within the meals business prohibits retailers from interfering with the worth to the buyer of one other retailer. Part 6 of the regulation states {that a} retailer won’t dictate to the provider and won’t intrude within the matter of the worth to the buyer that one other retailer expenses for a commodity.
The Competitors Authority suspects that Ravid allegedly coordinated with suppliers of different retailers, primarily Rami Levy and Yochananof, on value will increase. In conversations intercepted by the Competitors Authority, it emerged that Ravid requested suppliers to make sure that the costs don’t rise. These included suppliers of Dr. Fisher, Beit Hashita and Schestowitz. The Competitors Authority stresses that the businesses will not be suspects on this incident, because the ban is on the retailers.
That is the primary time that the Competitors Authority is finishing up legal enforcement below the Meals Legislation. Till in the present day, the enforcement was performed administratively by imposing fines.
Advs. Nati Simchony, Asaf Shubinsky and Assaf Klein performing for Ravid and Victory mentioned, “We obtained the letter with the suspicions and the summons of the corporate and Mr. Ravid for a listening to on the Competitors Authority. Our shoppers are satisfied that there was no fault of their actions, and we consider that after we state our place on the listening to, the Authority will come to an knowledgeable determination that there isn’t a purpose to prosecute our consumer, and can order the closure of the case.”
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Presumption of innocence: There are solely suspicions in opposition to Eitan Yochananof, Elad Harazi and Eyal Ravid and the Yochananof, Victory and Tremendous Bareket chains and so they haven’t been convicted of something associated to them and have the appropriate of the presumption of innocence.
Revealed by Globes, Israel enterprise information – en.globes.co.il – on June 19, 2024.
© Copyright of Globes Writer Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
