On 17 March 2026, the Italian Competition Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato “AGCM”) found that Morellato S.p.A., a company active in the field of watches and jewelry, had implemented a vertical distribution system restricting competition in violation of the TTBER (Transfer of Technology Block Exemption Regulation) and of Article 101 of the TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).
The AGCM analyzed Morellato’s distribution system and found: 1) an explicit contractual clause prohibiting distributors from using third-party marketplaces on Internet (e.g. Amazon and eBay); 2) a policy comprising maximum discount instructions for on-line sales, with a comprehensive monitoring system based on a specific software. In both cases retaliatory measures against non-compliant distributors were foreseen.
In the light of the above, the AGCM found that the distribution system of Morellato was against Article 101 of the TFUE, since resale prices were fixed and the activity on Internet marketplaces was limited, this in a discriminatory and non-proportional way, reducing competition among the distributors and limiting their autonomy in defining their commercial policies. Morellato was ordered to pay a fine of 25.895.043,00 Euro.
Article by Marco Venturello (VENTURELLO E BOTTARINI, AVVOCATI)
