Vienna, Sep 1: Austrian antitrust authorities are investigating a complaint, lodged by a family-owned supermarket chain in the state of Tirol, that a bottler for Coca-Cola Co. abused its dominant market position, according to people close to the situation.The investigation of marketing practices at Coca-Cola Beverages Plc, which bottles Coca-Cola products in Austria and several other European countries, comes as European Union antitrust officials are conducting a probe of the market activities of Coca-Cola and its bottlers in Germany, Denmark and Austria as a whole.
Italian regulators said earlier this month they had evidence that Coca-Cola and its bottlers, including London-based Coca-Cola Beverages, or CCB, had violated antitrust laws in that country.
M-Preis Warenvertriebs GmbH, Voels, Austria, filed its complaint with Austrian officials in May, but never publicised its allegations because it continues to sell Coca-Cola products and wanted to avoid public fallout.
The Wall Street Journal
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