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Swiss competition commission negotiates new agreement with Swatch Group

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October 2013


The Swiss competition commission (COMCO) has brought to a conclusion the inquiry it started on 6 June 2011 concerning the Swatch Group’s new policy for supplying movements to third parties.

On 8 July this year, the COMCO rejected the first gentlemen’s agreement between its secretariat and the Swatch Group. Now, however, it approves a renegotiated agreement that allows Swatch Group to introduce a staggered reduction to its deliveries of mechanical movements. The Swatch Group subsidiary ETA must treat all its customers equally and a clause has been added to support small and medium-sized companies to “avoid certain difficult situations”, according a press release issued by the COMCO.

The provisional measures that oblige Swatch Group to continue supplying assortments (the regulating organ of the mechanical movement) continue to apply. Under the terms of the new agreement, Swatch Group is obliged to deliver mechanical movements until 31 December 2019. In 2014/2015 it must deliver 75 per cent of the average quantities for the years 2009-2011, decreasing to 65 per cent in 2016/2017 and 55 per cent in 2018/2019.

Content adapted from the official COMCO press release, which is only available in French, German or Italian.