Opinion ID: 747558
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Retaliation Against Omega

Text: 73 On December 7, 1993, representatives of Omega met with representatives of Gilbarco. In the December meeting, Omega disclosed that it planned to issue catalogs and provide one-stop shopping for customers. 74 Gilbarco reacted negatively to the prospect of interbrand price competition for retail petroleum dispensers. Gilbarco's sales manager for North America testified that he feared that Omega might become a large enough distributor to insist upon volume discounts. Gilbarco also did not want Omega to publish throughout the marketplace the lower prices that Gilbarco was able to offer to major oil companies. 75 At a Gilbarco Distributor Advisory Council (DAC) 3 meeting held on December 15, 1993, Gilbarco representatives expressed their concerns about Omega. Distributors at the Gilbarco DAC meeting stated that it would be difficult to compete against Omega. These distributors asked Gilbarco to cancel any distributorship that became a part of Omega. 76 Gilbarco reminded distributors of its exclusive dealing policy in a February 8, 1994, memorandum stating: 77 [I]t is [Gilbarco's] general intention to continue to do business with service station equipment distributors who: 78 -- Sell only the Gilbarco line of retail dispensers; 79 -- Are not owned by competing companies; and 80 -- Sell in an export market only with the agreement of the local Gilbarco distributor.