CELEX: 31993M0300
Language: en
Date: 1993-03-22 00:00:00
Title: COMMISSION DECISION of 22.03.1993 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No IV/M.300 - KINGFISHER / DARTY) according to Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 (Only the English text is authentic)

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31993M0300

COMMISSION DECISION of 22.03.1993 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No IV/M.300 - KINGFISHER / DARTY) according to Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 (Only the English text is authentic)  

Official Journal C 087 , 27/03/1993 P. 0000

 COMMISSION DECISION of 22.03.1993 declaring a concentration to  be compatible with the common market (Case No IV/M.300 -  KINGFISHER / DARTY) according to Council Regulation (EEC) No  4064/89  (Only the English text is authentic)  The paper version of the decision is available through the  sales offices of the Office of Official Publications of the  European Communities. PUBLIC VERSION MERGER PROCEDURE ARTICLE 6(1)(b) DECISION Registered with advice of delivery To the notifying party Dear Sirs,  Re. : <ind> Case No IV/M.300 - KINGFISHER/DARTY  <ind> Notification of 19.02.1993 pursuant to Article 4 of  Council Regulation No. 4064/89 (Merger Regulation)  1. <ind> The notified operation concerns the proposed  acquisition by Kingfisher plc ("Kingfisher") of the majority of  the share capital of Financière Darty S.A. which controls  Etablissements Darty et Fils and the group's other operating  subsidiaries (together "Darty").  I. <ind> THE PARTIES  2. <ind> Kingfisher is one of the largest non-food retailers in  the U.K. Its retailing activities are confined to the UK and  conducted principally through four wholly-owned subsidiaries :  B & Q plc which operates a chain of do-it-yourself retail  outlets, stocking a wide range of products for home, car or  garden care; Comet Group plc which retails domestic appliances  ("white goods") and consumer electronics ("brown goods");  Superdrug Stores plc which supplies mainly self-service  toiletries and general personal care goods and Woolworths plc  which retails a variety of products including toys, records,  tapes, confectionery, childrens' clothing, home and garden  products and stationery. Other activities include Charlie  Browns Autocentres plc, which provide car servicing facilities  and retail a range of automotive products; Entertainment UK  Ltd, a wholesaler and distributor of recorded music and videos  and Chartwell Land plc, a property investment and development  company.  3. <ind> Darty is the leading specialist electrical retailer in  France. It currently operates through 130 stores mostly located  in Paris and in the larger provincial cities. Darty has also a  minority financial interest in Vanden Borre S.A., a Belgian  electrical retailer. Darty sells domestic appliances and  consumer electronics and offers after-sale services.  II. <ind> CONCENTRATION OF COMMUNITY DIMENSION  4. <ind> Under the terms of a Share Purchase Agreement and a  Share Exchange Agreement, Kingfisher intends to acquire at  least 95% of Financière Darty S.A.'s share capital. The  operation therefore constitutes a concentration within the  meaning of Article 3 of the Regulation.  5. <ind> The aggregate worldwide turnover of Kingfisher and  Darty exceeded 5 billion ECU in 1991/1992 (4.8 billion for  Kingfisher, 1.2 billion for Darty). Both have  Community wide  turnover of more than 250 million ECU. The parties do not   achieve more than two-thirds of their respective Community-wide  turnovers in one and the same Member State.   <ind> The proposed concentration thus has a Community  dimension in accordance with Article 1(2) of the Merger  Regulation.  III. <ind> COMPATIBILITY  6. <ind> In assessing a concentration in the retail business  sector it is necessary to consider the market power that can be  exercised both towards consumers and suppliers.   <ind> Consumers  7. <ind> Kingfisher and Darty are both retailers of consumer  electrical goods, respectively in the UK and France. Since  retail stores draw their customers from a local catchment area  there is no geographic overlap between the two businesses, and  consequently the transaction will not give rise to any addition  of market shares.   <ind> Both Kingfisher, through its subsidiary Comet, and Darty  occupy leading positions in their respective markets as  multispecialist electricals retailers. In the UK the Kingfisher  group accounts for 9% of the electricals retailing market (641  million ECU sales out of a total market of 7.236 million ECU).  It is second only to Dixons/Currys which holds 22% of the  market.   <ind> In France, Darty is the market leader in multispecialist  electricals retailing with a market share of nearly 13%. Its  competitors are not only other multispecialists (FNAC 3%,  Connexion 3%, Boulanger 2%) but also hypermarkets (Carrefour  10%, Auchan 4%, Casino-Rallye 4% and Cora 2%).   <ind> Suppliers  9. <ind> Where the same manufacturers supply both Kingfisher  and Darty, the merged entity might, theoretically, represent a  sufficiently large proportion of that supplier's sales in  France and the UK for it to be able to dictate terms to the  supplier. This would not appear to be an issue in this case.  While many manufacturers do supply both Darty and Kingfisher,  only one supplier relies on them for a substantial proportion  of sales in both the UK and France. Large numbers of  manufacturers only supply one of the parties and even where  they do supply both, products frequently differ as a result of  varying national tastes (e.g. in washing machines) or different  technical standards (e.g. in entertainment electronics). The  views of manufacturers expressed to the Commission were that  the concentration would not alter the current commercial  balance between suppliers and distributors in this sector.   <ind> Conclusion  10. <ind> The concentration will not, therefore, create or  strengthen a dominant position as a result of which effective  competition will be significantly impeded in the common market  or in a substantial part of it.  For the above reasons, the Commission has decided not to oppose  the notified concentration and to declare it compatible with  the common market. This decision is adopted in application of  Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation No. 4064/89.  For the Commission,