The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
BRUSSELS, Belgium —The European Union plans to launch more antitrust investigations into e-commerce companies after a two-year inquiry uncovered practices that restrict competition, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
In its report following the initial inquiry, the European Commission said there was an increased use of contractual restrictions to control product distribution, which could be in breach of EU antitrust rules.
"Certain practices by companies in e-commerce markets may restrict competition by unduly limiting how products are distributed throughout the EU," competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
The e-commerce sector inquiry is part of the European Commission's campaign to overhaul the bloc's digital market in a bid to boost growth and catch up with the United States and Asia.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The insight gained from the sector inquiry will enable the Commission to target EU antitrust enforcement in European e-commerce markets, which will include opening further antitrust investigations," the Commission said.
The EU executive also found that manufacturers increasingly use selective distribution systems where products can only be sold by pre-authorised sellers, giving them more control over distribution and price.
The report showed that almost 60 percent of digital content providers have agreed with the copyright holders for music, films and TV shows, for example, to geo-block, namely restricting consumers' access to products and services based on where they are located.
Some licensing practices may also make it more difficult for new online business models and services to emerge, the Commission said.
EU antitrust scrutiny of the pharmaceutical, energy and financial services industries over the past decade prompted investigations into companies in all three sectors.
By Julia Fioretti and Robert-Jan Bartunek; editor: David Clarke.
At The Business of Fashion’s Professional Summit in New York last week, Sona Abaryan, partner and global retail and luxury sector lead at tech-enabled data science firm Ekimetrics, shared how businesses can more effectively leverage AI-driven insights on consumer behaviour to achieve a customer-centric strategic approach.
From customer loyalty types to its pillars of personalisation, SAP Emarsys customer engagement provides more than 1,500 companies with personalised marketing campaigns via AI-powered analytics, including Puma, Aldo and Reformation. BoF learns more.
Before fashion businesses can put artificial intelligence to work or target the right shoppers online, they need good data and a deep understanding of who their customers are and what they want. This case study offers a guide for brands that want to truly know their customer, allowing them to make smarter decisions that serve shoppers and drive results.
The US House of Representatives approved a bill that could ultimately lead to a ban of the app, but its path forward remains far from certain.