1. ACE Annual Meeting Universidad Carlos III, Madrid 17 November 2017
Vertical restraints in online markets: The Asics case Massimo Motta ICREA-UPF & Barcelona GSE
ACE Annual Meeting
Universidad Carlos III, Madrid
17 November 2017

2. Introduction
There have recently been high-profile cases dealing with vertical arrangements in online markets in Europe
Moreover, the EC has carried out a Sector Inquiry on e-commerce.
It also considered legislative initiatives in the area (e.g. on geo-blocking, and even more controversially on large online platforms), but seems to have come to a softer approach
Broadly speaking, there have been two categories of cases:
Vertical restraints by manufacturers
Vertical restraints by online platforms (e.g., Online Travel Agencies –”OTAs”, but there have also been e-book investigations (Apple; Amazon) 2

3. Restraints imposed by manufacturers
Different types of vertical restraints at issue:
Clauses aiming at segmenting markets at national level (geo-blocking, geo-localisation of customers etc.; PC videogames, hotel accommodation)
Ban on selling via the internet (Pierre Fabre)
Restrictions on online pricing, e.g. dual pricing (Bosch Siemens in DE)
Restrictions on the use of price comparison sites (Deuter, Asics, airlines in the US)
Prohibition of selling in online platforms such as Amazon, Ebay (Deuter, Adidas, Coty, Asics)
Requirement to have brick and mortar sales as well
Absolute ban of selling through online marketplaces