The Italian Competition Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato – AGCM) has opened two separate antitrust investigations against Citizen Watch Italy S.p.A. and its Japanese parent company, Citizen Watch Co. Ltd., as well as against The Swatch Group (Italia) S.p.A. and its Swiss parent, The Swatch Group Ltd., over alleged violations of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The cases concern suspected anti-competitive practices in the distribution of watches, in particular the alleged fixing of resale prices and advertised online prices by authorised retailers.
According to the Authority, both groups may have implemented vertical restraints capable of limiting price competition among authorised retailers. In the case of Citizen, the investigation focuses on conditions allegedly imposed within its selective distribution system requiring retailers to display only the “recommended” retail prices, both in physical stores and online. The AGCM takes the view that these practices were not merely advisory in nature but were accompanied by systematic monitoring and retaliatory commercial measures, including the suspension of supplies and the worsening of payment terms for distributors that deviated from the imposed pricing levels.
A similar pattern of conduct is alleged in relation to The Swatch Group. The Authority’s preliminary findings suggest that representatives of The Swatch Group (Italia) pressured authorised dealers not to apply or advertise discounts, including discounts that become visible only at the checkout stage of online purchasing. Retailers are reported to have been threatened with the suspension of deliveries in the event of non-compliance. These alleged practices particularly concerned watches marketed under the Tissot and Mido brands, although they were not limited to newly launched collections.
The AGCM carried out price monitoring exercises comparing the prices published on the official brand websites with those displayed by authorised online retailers. In the Citizen case, the Authority found a very high degree of alignment between the two, with approximately 85% of observed prices matching the manufacturers’ websites. A similar level of uniformity was identified for Swatch Group products, where around 87% of authorised retailers were found to apply prices identical to those published on the official Tissot and Mido websites.
From a legal perspective, the alleged practices fall within the framework governing vertical agreements under Regulation (EU) 2022/720 and the European Commission’s Vertical Guidelines. The AGCM considers that the conduct at issue may amount to resale price maintenance (RPM), which is classified as a “hardcore” restriction and is not eligible for the block exemption, regardless of the parties’ market shares. In addition, the use of minimum advertised prices (MAPs), even if formally limited to advertised prices, is regarded as capable of restricting effective price competition by limiting retailers’ ability to inform consumers about discounts.
The Authority also considers that the alleged conduct is capable of affecting trade between EU Member States, given the national scope of the relevant market and the cross-border nature of online sales.
On 3 December 2025, AGCM officials, assisted by the Special Antitrust Unit of the Guardia di Finanza, carried out inspections at the premises of Citizen Watch Italy S.p.A. and The Swatch Group (Italia) S.p.A. The proceedings are scheduled to be completed by 30 November 2027. The companies concerned have 60 days from notification of the decisions to request a hearing.