Four ski shops in St Anton have been fined more than €400,00 between them by an Austrian court for agreeing to fix prices on equipment and clothing retail, rentals and servicing, according to a report in the Tirol Daily newspaper.
The court found that the practice led to prices being inflated by an average of 17% above the retail average and that it dated back to at least 2002.
The shops involved were Sport Pangratz & Ess, Alber Sport, Sport Jennewein Martin and (in a minor role) Fauner Sport. Each was fined individually, with fines ranging between 11,200 and 144,000 euros.
The case was brought after an anonymous tip off in the 2013/14 season. The court reached its decision and the fines were levied in April and the shops have now decided not to appeal against the ruling.
It was stressed that hotels and other travel companies that partnered with the shops to send their customers to them were not involved in the price-fixing.
Tirol Daily reports that similar investigations are underway in other (unspecified) ski resorts.
