On 17 October, the OFT announced that it had closed its investigation into a suspected agreement and/or concerted practice between sports goods retailers JJB and Sports Direct.
In September 2009, following a leniency application from JJB, the OFT opened an investigation into whether JJB and Sports Direct had participated in agreements with the object of restricting competition. The investigation quickly focused on suspected price-fixing and market-sharing, the latter rather unusually involving suspected coordination of the location of the parties' respective stores. However, in August this year, the OFT announced its provisional decision to close its investigation, taking account of its prioritisation principles. It confirmed that decision last month.
The OFT stated that in reaching its decision, it had taken into account a range of relevant factors. Most pertinent perhaps was the fact that it had uncovered only limited evidence of potential price-fixing, much of which was contradicted by other evidence. The likelihood of being able to determine whether or not there was an infringement was too low to merit continued investigation. The OFT was keen to point out that making the decision to close its investigation does not amount to a statement that either party has acted illegally; nor does it prevent it from re-opening the investigation in the future if there is new evidence or a change of circumstances.
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