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SubscribeOn December 3, 2025, the Spanish National Commission for Markets and Competition (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia, or CNMC) issued its decision in case S/0015/23 ICON, imposing on I.C.O.N. Europe, S.L. (I.C.O.N.) a fine of 1,197,907 euros and a five-month prohibition on contracting with the public sector. This is the first time the CNMC has determined the scope of the prohibition in a case involving vertical agreements in breach of Article 1 of Law 15/2007, of July 3, on the Defense of Competition (LDC).
In doing so, the CNMC consolidates the approach to imposing a ban on public contracting and setting its scope that it initiated in case S/0011/23 - Eólica del Alfoz, which involved an abuse of dominant position (Article 2 of the LDC), and which we discussed here.
Background
In December 2023, the CNMC initiated sanctioning proceedings against I.C.O.N., a company active in the wholesale and retail distribution of professional hairdressing products, for practices carried out between 2010 and 2024.
The CNMC identified a price control strategy involving two main types of conduct. First, resale price maintenance in the wholesale channel, between 2010 and 2024, with distributors in the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, through contractual clauses requiring them to comply with resale prices set by I.C.O.N. and not to apply prices below the annual price list for hair salons. Second, price fixing in the online retail channel, at the national level, between 2017 and 2023, through the periodic sending of recommended retail prices which, in fact, were mandatory. Both practices constitute infringements by object under Article 1 of the LDC.
The CNMC also identified other vertical conducts in the online retail channel, such as the imposition of limits on discounts and promotions, a prohibition on distributors selling on marketplaces, the implementation of a monitoring system for prices and discounts, and the exertion of pressure through threats and retaliation.
Imposition of fines and of the prohibition on contracting with the public sector
The CNMC imposed a fine for both types of conduct (637,907 euros and 560,000 euros, respectively) and, in addition, pursuant to Articles 71.1.b) and 72.2 of Law 9/2017, of November 8, on Public Sector Contracts (LCSP), imposed a five-month prohibition on contracting with the public sector, limited to the supply of professional hairdressing products (wholesale and online retail), and of national scope.
This decision is framed within the criteria set forth in Communication 1/2023, on criteria for determining the prohibition of contracting due to distortions of competition (Communication 1/2023), which allows the CNMC to impose the prohibition even when the infringements do not occur in the context of public procurement, provided they are serious or very serious. Until now, the CNMC had referred the determination of the scope of the prohibition to the State Public Procurement Advisory Board, but in the Eólica del Alfoz case (July 2025), it already determined the scope of the prohibition, and it has also determined again in this case.
Scope and Proportionality: Comparison with Eólica del Alfoz and Regional Precedents
The prohibition on contracting with the public sector imposed on I.C.O.N. has a duration of five months, shorter than the twelve months applied in the first case in which the CNMC directly determined the scope and duration of the prohibition, and also shorter than some prohibitions imposed by regional competition authorities, which have ranged from 18 to 24 months (case 102/2019 - Aerobús 2, or case 108/2020 - Contractació pública de serveis d'organització d'esdeveniments (Catalan Competition Authority); case 5/2021 - USC (Galician Competition Commission); or case S 08/2023 - Conservación Carreteras 1 (Andalusian Agency for Competition and Economic Regulation)).
The material and geographic scope reflects that the prohibition may extend beyond the strictly affected market: although the infringement in the wholesale channel affected the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, whereas the infringement in the online retail channel was nationwide, the CNMC imposed a prohibition of national scope, considering that the effects of the infringement on competition and public procurement are projected at the national level. Materially, the prohibition covers virtually all activity linked to the affected brand, without extending to other products or businesses of the group, as was the case in Eólica del Alfoz.
This delimitation reflects a more cautious application of the criteria in Communication 1/2023, which allows extending the material and geographic scope in serious or very serious infringements, and at the same time is more conservative than some practices of regional authorities, which have extended the material scope of the prohibition beyond the area directly affected by the infringement (case 101/2018 - Metro L9/L10 (Catalan Competition Authority); case 5/2021 - USC (Galician Competition Commission)).
Final Remarks
This case confirms two trends that have been gaining importance for some time now: the increased level of scrutiny by competition authorities in the investigation and sanctioning of restrictions in vertical nature, and the consolidation of the prohibition on contracting with the public sector as a direct consequence of competition infringements, “regardless of whether the infringing conduct (...) has a direct impact on public procurement” as the CNMC states in the decision at hand, which appears to be the case for the sanctioned company. This strategic shift underscores the critical importance of competition compliance programs and effective self-cleaning measures, which are evolving from being an option to become an essential element for protecting business continuity in the market and access to public contracting, especially for companies for which the provision of services or execution of works for the public sector constitutes a significant part of their ordinary business.Don’t miss our content
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