Retailers of replica soccer shirts have been warned by the Competition Authority that price fixing is illegal and would leave them open to prosecution under the Competition Act.
The move follows an investigation by Britain's Office of Fair Trading which found that some suppliers had attempted to impose minimum resale prices for their products. This practice is illegal under Irish law.
Recent spot checks carried out by the Competition Authority in the Republic indicated "a high level of price uniformity in a number of cases", said the Director of Competition Enforcement, Mr Pat Massey. While this of itself was not conclusive, he added, taken together with the evidence of cases in Britain it warranted investigation. In a letter to sports retailers around the State, the Competition Authority warns that although suppliers can recommend a retail price, "resale price maintenance" - fixing a minimum price - is prohibited.
"Any attempt to ensure that retailers adhere to that price and/or any action to prevent retailers, in particular, from selling below that price, whether by threatening to withhold supplies or otherwise, would constitute a breach of the Competition Act," the letter continues.
It also invites retailers who are aware of any attempts by suppliers to fix prices to contact the Authority.
The move comes as the new soccer season starts across Europe, and places the spotlight back on the high prices charged by sports manufacturers for replica shirts.
For example, Manchester United, the most popular English side with Irish supporters, has released more than 10 new jerseys in recent years. With each one retailing at up to £45, this has prompted complaints from parents who feel they are being steamrolled into paying out too much cash.
Earlier this week, Tesco announced that it had sourced a large number of Manchester United and Liverpool shirts from an unauthorised supplier somewhere in the European Union, and would sell them at prices 25 per cent lower than the clubs' own stores. A spokeswoman for the chain store in Ireland, however, said that the supply of the shirts was limited and they would go on sale in just two of Tesco's Irish branches - probably Monaghan and Tallaght.
Tesco has been at the forefront of a campaign by British and other European retailers to circumvent price fixing by luxury goods manufacturers. This has involved sourcing the goods on the "grey market" - from suppliers in countries where prices are cheaper, and passing some of the savings on to customers.
But the policy received a setback last month when an EU court ruled that grey market goods could not be sourced outside the 15 member states. Some British supermarkets, however, are openly defying the ban on grey market imports from outside the EU. Asda, the UK's third-largest chain, this week opened the first of up to 15 stalls dedicated entirely to luxury grey market goods.
