LONDON – Britain’s retail regulator says it has evidence that an underwear maker and three department stores colluded to inflate the price of a popular sports bra.
The Office of Fair Trading says it is investigating whether DB Apparel U.K. entered into anti-competitive agreements with retailers John Lewis, Debenhams and House of Fraser between 2008 and 2011 over the Shock Absorber bra.
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The regulator said its provisional view was that the manufacturer and the stores agreed on retail prices, in a “serious infringement of competition law.”
The office’s senior director of services, Ann Pope, said the agency would hear from the companies before making a final ruling.
The companies dispute the claims.
The Shock Absorber was once advertised by tennis player Anna Kournikova under the slogan: “Only the balls should bounce.”
Read more: In Canada, chocolate giants settle price-fixing class action suit
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