The Danish competition authority, Konkurrenceankenævnet, has upheld a decision from March 2024 stating that Hübsch, an interior design company, breached competition rules by coordinating prices and exchanging pricing information with a competitor.

Tine Rønde, Deputy Director of the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, emphasized that Hübsch raised its prices after discussing the extent of price increases with a rival, which also raised its prices. This practice is detrimental to consumers and constitutes a clear violation of competition laws.

Konkurrenceankenævnet's ruling highlights that the correspondence between the competing firms represents a horizontal coordinated practice. They informed each other about their intended market behavior, effectively influencing each other's pricing strategies. The aim of this coordination was to reduce uncertainty regarding their market conduct.

The authority noted that such price coordination is inherently capable of limiting competition, resulting in a significant restriction of market competition.

The case involves Hübsch, which produces kitchen accessories, tableware, furniture, and other home decor items. The company coordinated prices and exchanged pricing information with Broste Copenhagen, leading to the introduction of a Covid-19 fee on all orders and general price increases on most of Hübsch's products.

This coordination occurred between January 2021 and at least July 2021, coinciding with the launch of both companies' spring/summer and autumn/winter collections for 2021. Broste Copenhagen acknowledged its violation of competition rules in April 2023 and accepted a fine of six million kroner.

The case against Hübsch will now be brought before the Maritime and Commercial Court, seeking to impose a civil fine on the company.