118 NEWSLETTER 2021 Hub and Spoke Cartels* Aslı Su Çoruk Introduction Hub and spoke cartel is not a frequently encountered competition law violation due to its complex structure. Yet nowadays, it is one of the most pressing topics on the agenda of the Turkish Competition Board (“Board”). As it has been widely publicized throughout the media, the Board has recently announced its final decision1 with regard to the investigation initiated to examine the pricing behavior of the market chains operating in the retail trade of food and cleaning supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic and the manufacturer and wholesaler undertakings which are their suppliers. The Board has imposed fines on top five largest retailers in Turkey, in addition to a food supplier. The infringement determined by the Board in this case is that the undertakings were acting as a “hub and spoke cartel” for the purpose of determining the retail sale prices of many products. In this article, after laying out the criteria that define a hub and spoke cartel, hub and spoke examples under Turkish competition law will be examined through the Board’s two significant decisions. Definition and Legal Basis A hub and spoke cartel can be defined as the indirect exchange of information between two independent undertakings which are horizontal competitors on the supplier or retailer level (“spokes”), through another undertaking operating at a different level of the production or distribution chain (“hub”). The hub facilitates the coordination of competition between the spokes without direct contacts between the * Article of November, 2021 1 The announcement with regard to the Board’s decision dated 28.10.2021 and No. 21-53/747-360, https://www.rekabet.gov.tr/Dosya/geneldosya/zincirmarketler_ nihaikararduyurusu-pdf (Access date: 16.11.2021).
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