Unilever and Procter & Gamble in price fixing fine

"It cleans unmentionable stains too!"

You'd think corporate business would be changing their ways, what with the combined forces of internet bloggers and consumer organisations keeping a beady eye on them. The latest industry with corporate backsliders in trouble is the detergent business. Unilever and Procter & Gamble have been fined 315m euros (£280m, $456m) for fixing washing powder prices in eight European countries. They admitted they were running a cartel. It must be something in the mindset of the directors of these companies. Do they sit in their boardrooms plotting and planning these scams? If so, it's about time the shareholders took them aside and gave them a good rinsing. How many packets of detergent do they need to sell in order to recoup £280 million? A complete waste of economic time.

Anyone surfing the net will see the tide is against such practices. In this era of restraint, such activities offer no gain. The cartel's cosy arrangement was revealed by a tip-off to the European Commission by a competitor. The Commission called the investigation "Purity". Pity the two corporates don't get as white as the washing powders they promote.

Posted in: cartels,corporate sleaze,price fixing,Procter and Gamble,Unilever