Greece fines Unilever, P&G
More multinationals may face the same fate in the weeks to come due to their pricing
The Ministry of Development has formally declared war on multinationals, imposing fines on the two largest companies in the consumer goods sector, Unilever and Procter & Gamble, a war that had been announced by the prime minister himself a few weeks ago.
The fines, amounting to 1 million euros on each of the two companies, were imposed for breaching gross margin cap laws on more than 100 product codes, including detergents, household cleaners and personal hygiene products.
Notably the ministry agencies are about to complete the probe on five more multinational companies and the announcement of new fines is expected in the near future. They are expected to include companies active in the food industry.
“Checks will continue and fines will be issued without hesitation. The battle with inflation is going on and on. We shall not be complacent,” said Minister Kostas Skrekas on Thursday.
In a statement issued by Unilever, it expressed its disagreement with the methodology for calculating the fine and will therefore appeal to justice, while maintaining that a large percentage of its additional production and operating costs has not been passed on to shoppers, to the detriment of its profitability. However, it says that it will participate in the “permanent price reduction” initiative (this is the price reduction measure of 5% or more for at least six months) with more than 80 product codes from all its categories.
Company sources spoke of a “provisional decision,” since, as they pointed out to Kathimerini, it was given only five days to respond to ministry comments – while another multinational was given 30 days – and when Unilever sent its multi-page objection, the ministry rejected it after just three hours.
The questioning of how the fine was calculated does not come from Unilever alone and there may be an appeal by one or more multinationals to the Council of State about it. Companies with production in Greece are showing their dissatisfaction with the government, with warnings about divestment from the country.
