Investigation led to clarification of Onlinepizza’s agreement

The Authority received a complaint about the company Onlinepizza Norden AB (Onlinepizza) in October 2015 in that it had issued an ultimatum to restaurants affiliated to the competing company Apphero Sweden AB (Pizzahero) while also being affiliated to Onlinepizza. According to the complaint, Onlinepizza’s ultimatum meant that restaurants either had to be affiliated to Pizzahero or to Onlinepizza. Both companies offer an online food ordering platform to restaurants wishing to reach consumers with their offers of takeaway and home delivery food.

If a company makes it difficult for customers or suppliers to be simultaneously affiliated with competing platforms, the risk of anti-competitive effects may arise. This can lead to the exclusion of competing platforms and also counteract the establishment of new platforms. The effects are influenced by factors such as the degree of market power held by each platform and the share of relevant customers or suppliers that are affected by the procedure.

The Authority initiated an investigation into whether Onlinepizza’s actions could pose a risk of creating these anti-competitive effects. The investigation has failed to reveal that Onlinepizza, in practice, has demanded exclusivity. Onlinepizza’s partnership agreements have included a clause that entitles Onlinepizza to end its cooperation with any restaurant that at the same time has chosen to work with a competing platform. During the investigation, Onlinepizza opted to change the wording in the partnership agreement, clarifying the clause in question.

In light of this, the Swedish Competition Authority has decided not to investigate the matter further and has therefore closed the case.

Read the decision, dnr 658/2015