Swatch Group says that the Italian competition authority (AGCM) had carried out inspections at the company's premises in Italy. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Swatch confirmed to AWP that the AGCM suspects the Biel-based watchmaker of engaging in anti-competitive practices. In particular, investigators suspect Swatch Group of imposing sales prices on its retailers in the country. The French news agency AFP revealed on Tuesday that the Swiss company, like the Japanese watchmaking group Citizen, which includes the Geneva-based Frédérique Constant brand as well as Bulova, Vagary and Alpina, was in the sights of Italian investigators. The AGCM opened an investigation and carried out inspections at the Italian premises of the two groups to "verify a possible violation of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), consisting in the fixing of public prices displayed on the online channels of their authorised distributors".
