Italian Antitrust Authority Fines Jewelry Giant Morellato €25.9 Million for Price Fixing

The AGCM has penalized jewelry group Morellato for restricting online discounts and banning sales on Amazon and eBay, violating EU antitrust regulations.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 6, 2026, 10:42 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from The Fashion Law (TFL)

Sanctions for Systematic Resale Price Maintenance

Italy’s primary antitrust regulator, the AGCM, has concluded a multi-year investigation into the commercial practices of the Morellato jewelry group, resulting in a substantial €25.89 million penalty. The authority determined that the company engaged in illegal resale price maintenance by dictating the maximum discounts its distributors could offer to consumers. According to the regulator’s March 31 decision, these practices were designed to artificially stabilize prices across the brand's network, preventing independent retailers from competing on cost and effectively stripping them of their commercial autonomy in the digital marketplace.

Enforcement Through Monitoring and Retaliation

The investigation revealed that Morellato’s pricing controls were not merely suggestions but were reinforced through a rigorous monitoring system that spanned from July 2018 to December 2025. When distributors deviated from the group’s prescribed pricing guidance, the company reportedly intervened with aggressive corrective measures. These actions included formal requests to withdraw unauthorized discounts, the blocking of new product orders, and explicit threats to terminate long-standing commercial relationships. The AGCM characterized these interventions as a form of indirect price fixing that fundamentally restricted the ability of distributors to set their own market rates.

Barriers to Third-Party Marketplace Access

Beyond pricing controls, the AGCM identified a series of restrictive contractual obligations that prohibited Morellato's authorized distributors from selling products on dominant third-party marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. The regulator found that these prohibitions were applied in a discriminatory and non-proportionate manner, further limiting the reach of independent retailers. By cutting off access to these high-traffic platforms, the jewelry group allegedly reduced intra-brand competition and limited consumer choice, ensuring that sales remained concentrated within channels more easily controlled by the parent company.