Norwegian grocery chains face 4.9 billion NOK in potential antitrust fines

The Gulating Court of Appeal is set to preside over a major legal case involving Norway's largest grocery retailers: Norgesgruppen, Rema 1000, and Coop. The Norwegian Competition Authority is seeking total fines of 4.9 billion NOK, alleging that the companies engaged in cooperation that weakened competition and led to higher food prices.

The dispute centers on an agreement established around 2012 that allowed 'price hunters'—representatives equipped with handheld scanners—to spend up to 20 hours per week in competing stores to monitor pricing. While the Competition Authority argues this collaboration harmed the market, the grocery chains deny any wrongdoing, maintaining that monitoring competitors is standard business practice.

The trial, scheduled to run from October 12 to December 14, will focus on whether theoretical risks of competitive harm are sufficient to justify such significant fines in the absence of definitive proof of actual damage.