T and F at the beginning of a line are indicating true or false
Please correct me if I’m wrong!
Question 1
Zarouk GmbH is a fast fashion company (annual turnover of € 36.7 million, 37% market share in the EU) launching a new collection of 50 new pieces every week. In Germany and Austria, Zarouk has a market share of 65% due to the different structure of demand there, while in France, Zarouk is a new entrant with 5% market share.
Zarouk heard that the European Commission strictly enforces Article 102 TFEU. Which of the following statements is/are correct?
- F With its overall market share of 37%, Article 102 TFEU does not apply to Zarouk.
- F Article 102 TFEU does not apply to Zarouk, as at least two undertakings are required to apply this provision.
- T In Germany and Austria, Zarouk may be found to have a dominant position.
- F As Zarouk is indirectly owned by the German federal state of Bavaria, Article 102 TFEU does not apply to it.
Question 2
Zarouk GmbH is a fast fashion company (annual turnover of € 36.7 million, 37% market share in the EU) launching a new collection of 50 new pieces every week. In Germany and Austria, Zarouk has a market share of 65% due to the different structure of demand there, while in France, Zarouk is a new entrant with 5% market share.
Imagine you are intending to make use of the following practices on behalf of Zarouk GmbH. Which of the following statements is/are correct?
- T A fast fashion company cannot generally prohibit its resellers from selling online.
- T Zarouk decides to make use of its recent popularity and increases prices by 150%. This could be an infringement of Article 102(a) TFEU.
- F To ensure that the up and rising Fashion AG does not become too popular, Zarouk decides to target Fashion AG’s customers with prices below its own cost to drive Fashion AG out of the market. The Commission’s Guidance Paper states that this is not a problem under Article 102 TFEU.
- T Possible fines for Zarouk’s behaviour could be up to 10% of the previous year’s turnover based on Article 23 para 2 of the Regulation 1/2003.
Question 3
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
- T Regarding the presence of undertakings, Article 102 TFEU differs from Article 101 TFEU as it requires one or more undertakings, whereas Article 101 TFEU requires two or more undertakings.
- F The De Minimis Notice also applies under Article 102 TFEU.
- T The Effect on trade Guidelines also apply under Article 102 TFEU.
- T Based on the Market Definition Notice, the relevant market is defined based on the products’ substitutability.
Question 4
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
- F The EUMR is an ex post control element of competition law.
- T The EUMR is an ex ante control element of competition law.
- T For an analysis a potentially anti-competitive mergerunder the EUMR, the SIEC test is relevant.
- F For an analysis of a potentially anti-competitive merger under the EUMR, the SSNIP test is relevant.
Question 5
Furli Bags produces wallets (market share 30% in the EU, €1,689 million annual worldwide turnover). They agree with their competitor Eco Bags (5% market share in the EU, €1,274 million annual worldwide turnover) on a new process for manufacturing eco-friendly and recyclable wallets. The CO2 emissions are nearly eliminated in comparison with regular manufacturing processes. After getting into trouble for violating Article 101 TFEU, Furli Bags and Eco Bags are considering working together on a legal basis by entering into a merger.
You are the manager of Furli Bags and make use of the knowledge you acquired during the BBE course “Law, Economics, and Business”. Choose the correct result(s) of your legal research.
Which statement(s) regarding the turnover threshold of the merger is/are correct?
- F The concentration between Furli Bags and Eco Bags possibly has a Union dimension under Article 1(2) EUMR. → turnover not above 5 billion
- T The concentration between Furli Bags and Eco Bags possibly has a Union dimension under Article 1(3) EUMR. → turnover above 2.5 billion
- T If Furli Bags and Eco Bags each achieve more than two-thirds of their Union turnover within one and the same Member State, then their merger does not have a Union dimension.
- F A concentration with a Union dimension is always prohibited.
Question 6
Furli Bags has a market share of 30% in the EU, €1,689 million annual worldwide turnover. Eco Bags has a 5% market share in the EU, €1,274 million annual worldwide turnover.
Regarding the HHI, which of the following statements is/are true?
You have answered to this content with the answers The HHI value indicates whether the European Commission is generally concerned that a merger leads to a significant impediment of effective competition.,.
- T The HHI value indicates whether the European Commission is generally concerned that a merger leads to a significant impediment of effective competition.
- F A merger above a certain HHI value is always prohibited under the EUMR.
- T Furli Bag’s four main competitors have the following market shares in the EU: Caballo 20%, Bvalenvia 30%, and Guzzi 3%. Under the Horizontal Merger Guidelines, the European Commission would regard the post-merger concentration level in combination with the change in concentration occurring through the merger as problematic.
- F Under para 19 of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines, the Commission would certainly not regard the proposed merger as problematic.