Weko reprimands municipalities
JCDecaux's affichage share is not disputed
JCDecaux's Affichage stake is not disputedIt is not JCDecaux's entry into Affichage that is weakening competition among outdoor advertisers in Switzerland, but the negligence of some Swiss municipalities. This is the essence of a press release issued by the Competition Commission (Comco) on May 14. The result: The Weko allows the cooperation between JCDecaux and Affichage.When the French outdoor advertiser JCDecaux in autumn
1999 from Publigroupe a
30 percent stake in Affichage, the Weko suspected a competition agreement and initiated an investigation. After a good year and a half, the Weko came to the conclusion on
May 7 concluded that the cooperation between JCDecaux and Affichage was "unobjectionable."
The investigation showed "that there are other, significant companies that are active in the field of outdoor advertising in Switzerland, such as Clear Channel, or could become active, such as TDI Worldwide, Wall AG or Ströer," the Weko wrote. In addition, there is a certain competitive pressure on billboard advertisers from other advertising media (TV advertising, print media).
Negligence in many Swiss municipalities
The Weko is now singling out some Swiss municipalities as real obstacles to competition in this area: According to a survey of 200 municipalities, some of the larger municipalities restrict competition for billboard sites, for example by not issuing a call for tenders. In these cases, the poster sites are simply leased to the previous outdoor advertising partner.
In addition, the tendering regulations are sometimes circumvented, Patrik Ducrey of the Weko explained on request. Other municipalities, on the other hand, conclude so-called consortium contracts that include all potential providers in an overall concept. "This weakens competition," writes the Weko, which, according to Ducrey, can do nothing legally against such behavior. However, last year the Weko wrote to the municipalities asking them to put leases out to tender.
Despite the positive decision, the fronts remain hard (WW 18/01): Affichage continues to deny JCDecaux a seat on the Board of Directors. Markus Knöpfli
1999 from Publigroupe a
30 percent stake in Affichage, the Weko suspected a competition agreement and initiated an investigation. After a good year and a half, the Weko came to the conclusion on
May 7 concluded that the cooperation between JCDecaux and Affichage was "unobjectionable."
The investigation showed "that there are other, significant companies that are active in the field of outdoor advertising in Switzerland, such as Clear Channel, or could become active, such as TDI Worldwide, Wall AG or Ströer," the Weko wrote. In addition, there is a certain competitive pressure on billboard advertisers from other advertising media (TV advertising, print media).
Negligence in many Swiss municipalities
The Weko is now singling out some Swiss municipalities as real obstacles to competition in this area: According to a survey of 200 municipalities, some of the larger municipalities restrict competition for billboard sites, for example by not issuing a call for tenders. In these cases, the poster sites are simply leased to the previous outdoor advertising partner.
In addition, the tendering regulations are sometimes circumvented, Patrik Ducrey of the Weko explained on request. Other municipalities, on the other hand, conclude so-called consortium contracts that include all potential providers in an overall concept. "This weakens competition," writes the Weko, which, according to Ducrey, can do nothing legally against such behavior. However, last year the Weko wrote to the municipalities asking them to put leases out to tender.
Despite the positive decision, the fronts remain hard (WW 18/01): Affichage continues to deny JCDecaux a seat on the Board of Directors. Markus Knöpfli
