Austria’s Cartel Court has fined three companies from the Pfanner group a total of €400,000 for engaging in unlawful resale price maintenance in the market for work and protective clothing.
In a decision dated 19 November 2025, the Cartel Court found that Pfanner Schutzbekleidung GmbH, Protos GmbH and Anton Pfanner Holding AG had infringed both Austrian competition law and Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union by fixing resale prices.
According to the court, the companies participated in a uniform and continuous infringement between March 2016 and November 2021. The unlawful conduct took the form of setting or maintaining fixed resale prices for their products, thereby restricting the ability of retailers to independently determine the prices at which workwear and protective clothing were sold on the Austrian market.
Resale price maintenance is considered a serious restriction of competition under both national and EU law because it limits price competition at the retail level and can lead to higher prices for customers. The court imposed the fine pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Austrian Cartel Act, taking into account the duration and nature of the infringement.
The ruling underscores the continued enforcement of competition rules against vertical price-fixing practices and serves as a reminder that agreements restricting retailers’ pricing freedom remain prohibited under EU and national antitrust frameworks.