– Den største konkurranserettssaken noensinne

On Monday, the trial of the so-called price-gouging case began at the Gulating Lagmannsrett in Bergen. Norgesgruppen, Coop, and Rema 1000 are seeking to overturn the fines issued by the Competition Authority totalling 4.9 billion kroner, the highest fines the authority has ever imposed. This case marks the largest competition law case ever handled in Norwegian courts, according to Norgesgruppen attorney Kaare Shetelig in his opening argument.

Over the next two months, he and the other attorneys for the defendant companies will argue that the state has insufficient evidence to support its claims. The Competition Authority argues that the chain's agreement on how to check each other's prices has led to weaker competition. Norgesgruppen, Rema 1000, and Coop clearly deny that this industry norm has harmed competition.

There is no evidence that competition would have been any higher without the industry norm, and they have attempted to find evidence, Shetelig says. Checking competitors' prices is normal behavior for any business, they argue. The attorneys believe it actually leads to stronger competition. "It was tough competition throughout the period, and it was increasingly tough competition," Shetelig says.

The state, on the other hand, will argue that cooperation created less uncertainty for the companies. They believe that the benefit of lowering prices was weakened while there was less risk in setting prices higher. Shetelig points out that the Competition Authority was aware of the cooperation for seven and a half years before the investigation began.

"Even though the industry norm had been in place for seven and a half years, the Competition Authority believes it's premature to show potential damage," he says.