The New Zealand consumer watchdog will weigh out the pros and cons of giving HP New Zealand the green light to determine the prices of its products sold by third parties through its HP online stores.
New Zealand’s competition watchdog has released a statement of preliminary issues outlining key competition issues that could potentially arise if HP New Zealand were to be granted approval to engage in resale price management (RPM) in relation to its HP online stores. HP made a submission [PDF] to the Commerce Commission (ComCom) on March 22 for approval to supply its products to a third-party distributor, who would then sell those products directly to customers and receive payments from those sales through HP’s online stores. As part of this, HP intends to control the product and marketing strategies, as well as determine the price of its products that are sold by third parties through its HP online stores. Under the Commerce Act 1986, however, RPM is prohibited as ComCom considers it as a form of anti-competitive behaviour because it “prevents resellers from setting their prices independently and can lead to increased prices for consumers”. Engaging in RPM in New Zealand is only permitted if it is authorised by the watchdog when it is “satisfied that the RPM conduct will in all the circumstances result, or be likely to result, in such a benefit to the public”.
