Nero Bathrooms International Pty Ltd

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Nero Bathrooms International Pty Ltd (Nero) after Nero admitted it was likely to have engaged in resale price maintenance in contravention of section 48 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA).

Nero is a national supplier of Nero branded bathroom products, supplying over 1000 independent chain stores across Australia.

Nero has admitted it likely engaged in resale price maintenance by withholding supply of its products from a retailer when that retailer failed to raise its advertised prices. In March 2020, Nero made statements to the retailer that that the retailer’s prices were too low, that it should not advertise Nero products at a price lower than 15% off the recommended retail price (RRP), and that it should raise its online advertised prices so those prices were not lower than 15% below the RRP. When the retailer did not raise its prices, Nero stopped supplying them. To address the ACCC’s concerns, Nero provided the ACCC with a section 87B undertaking that it will:

• not engage in resale price maintenance for a period of three years;
• write to all of its retail customers informing them of  their freedom to set prices; and
• implement and maintain a practical legal training program for sales staff on the requirements of the CCA, including resale price maintenance.