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In a probe by the EU authorities, the luxury brands were found violating the existing competition rules.
The luxury brands restricted resale prices and discounts for their retail partners.
The European Union on Tuesday, October 14, imposed fines collectively amounting to 157 million euros (approximately Rs 1,610.28 crore) on multiple luxury brands such as Gucci, Chloe and Loewe. The fine was imposed on these brands after the EU’s antitrust watchdog found them in breach of the existing competition rules and market regulations.
In April 2023, the European Commission carried out raids on these companies and a formal antitrust investigation was launched in July 2024.
Top Luxury Brands Fined For Fixing Prices For Retailers
In a probe by the EU authorities, the luxury brands were found fixing resale prices for their retail partners and imposing restrictions on discounts, among other violations of the existing competition rules.
“The three fashion companies interfered with their retailers’ commercial strategies by imposing restrictions on them, such as requiring them not to deviate from recommended retail prices; maximum discount rates; and specific periods for sales,” the European Commission said in a statement on Tuesday, as per a report by Investing.com.
By stopping independent third-party retailers from entering the scene, luxury brands Gucci, Chloe and Loewe almost held a monopoly and caused a rise in prices, while also restricting the customers’ choices. The EU’s antitrust watchdog imposed a hefty penalty on these three luxury brands for exploitation of their dominant positions.
How Much Each Brand Has To Pay?
The penalty of over Rs 1,600 crores is a reduced sum after all three companies acknowledged their violations and cooperated with the European Commission.
Gucci, the Kering-owned Italian label and the largest of the three companies, has to pay the highest penalty of €119.7 million (approx Rs 1,229 crore) for infringements noted by authorities between April 2015 and April 2023.
Kering said the company “acknowledges” the EU’s decision “related to past commercial practices at Gucci”. It confirmed that Gucci has also prepared for the fine in its financial statements for the year.
French luxury brand Chloe has been penalised €19.7 million (approx Rs 202 crore) for violations that occurred between December 2019 and April 2023. The EU body also imposed fines up to €18 million (Rs 185 crore) on the Spanish brand Loewe, owned by the French luxury group LVMH, due to the infringements observed between December 2015 and April 2023.
These companies were called out and penalised for interfering “with their retailers’ commercial strategies.” It included prohibiting independent retailers from offering maximum discount rates and imposing restrictions on certain sale periods. In some cases, the EU watchdog found that these companies even temporarily banned retailers from offering any discounts to customers.
Delhi, India, India
October 28, 2025, 20:00 IST
