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This article analyses the CNMC’s December 2025 decision sanctioning I.C.O.N. Europe for long‑running resale price maintenance across its wholesale and online distribution channels. It is crucial to understand that the CNMC treated RPM as a by‑object infringement, imposed aggravated fines, and ordered a five‑month ban on participation in public procurement procedures. Businesses operating through distribution networks should review their pricing policies, online sales rules, communications with distributors, and compliance processes to ensure that no contractual or informal practices restrict resale pricing or hinder cooperation with competition authorities. Relevant to Competition, Legal, Compliance, Procurement and Commercial teams.
Executive Summary
On 3 December 2025, the Spanish Competition Authority (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia, “CNMC”) adopted its decision in case S/0015/23 – ICON, imposing sanctions on I.C.O.N. Europe, S.L. (“ICON”) for engaging in resale price maintenance (“RPM”) within its professional hairdressing products distribution network.
ICON is a Spanish undertaking active in the wholesale distribution of professional hairdressing and cosmetic products, as well as in the direct retail sale of those products via its own website.
The CNMC assessed ICON’s conduct under Article 1 of the Spanish Competition Act (Ley 15/2007, “LDC”) and Article 101(1) TFEU, which prohibit agreements and concerted practices that prevent, restrict, or distort competition.
The CNMC found that ICON committed two distinct infringements consisting of RPM at different levels of its distribution system:
- Wholesale level (2010–2024): ICON contractually imposed resale prices on two wholesale distributors operating in the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, obliging them to adhere to resale prices set by ICON for sales to hairdressing salons in their respective territories.
- Retail/online level (2017–2023): ICON imposed mandatory retail prices, particularly in the online sales channel throughout Spain, through the repeated issuance of binding price lists. This conduct was reinforced by additional measures, including restrictions on online sales (notably a prohibition on sales via Amazon), active monitoring of retailers’ compliance, and practices that encouraged mutual oversight among distributors.
According to the CNMC, these pricing and commercial policies eliminated intra-brand price competition, prevented distributors from lowering resale prices, led to higher consumer prices, and potentially hindered the entry or expansion of more efficient distribution formats, thereby limiting innovation.
The CNMC characterised both infringements as restrictions of competition by object. Further, the CNMC took into account the amendment to the LDC of 28 April 2021, under which RPM was reclassified from a serious to a very serious infringement. As the conduct began before and continued after the reform, the CNMC applied different maximum fine thresholds:
- up to 5% of turnover for the pre-reform period; and
- up to 10% of turnover for the post-reform period (calculated by reference to ICON’s 2024 turnover).
As a result, the CNMC:
- imposed fines of EUR 637,907 (wholesale infringement) and EUR 560,000 (retail/online infringement); and
- prohibited ICON from participating in public procurement procedures throughout Spain for a period of five months.
Key findings of the decision
- The CNMC carried out an unannounced inspection (dawn raid) at ICON’s headquarters in May 2023.
- The authority found a long-standing and multi-layered RPM scheme, combining contractual price obligations, mandatory price communications, online sales restrictions, and systematic monitoring of distributor compliance.
- The decision references internal communications (including WhatsApp messages) between ICON and its distributors, which demonstrated enforcement of resale prices and coordination among distributors. Evidence also indicates that ICON drafted or reviewed responses to CNMC information requests sent to other distributors, and that the company misrepresented information both during the on-site inspection and in its own responses to CNMC requests.
- The CNMC concluded that ICON’s relatively low market share did not mitigate the seriousness of the infringement, as RPM constitutes a by-object restriction capable of producing anticompetitive effects irrespective of market power.
- The CNMC rejected ICON’s arguments that RPM is a novel or minor form of infringement and that its conduct was incapable of appreciably restricting competition due to ICON’s limited market position. The authority reiterated that RPM is a well-established and particularly harmful restriction of competition.
- Two aggravating circumstances were applied:
i. ICON’s active monitoring and control of distributors to ensure compliance with imposed prices; and
ii. obstruction and lack of cooperation during the investigation.
- In practice, the fines were applied as follows: for the first infringement, 1.90% for the serious part and 2.10% for the very serious part; for the second infringement, 1.5% and 2.5%, respectively.
- As to the duration of the prohibition from participating in public procurement procedures (5 months), the CNMC noted that the infringements did not have a direct impact on public procurement, which aligns with the moderate level of fines set in the lower half of the 10% maximum allowed for very serious infringements under the LDC.
Enforcement context and broader significance
- This is the second CNMC decision expressly determining the scope and duration of a prohibition on contracting with public authorities, following Eólica del Alfoz (S/0011/23, July 2025).
- The decision reflects the CNMC’s firm enforcement stance on vertical price restrictions and coincides with other enforcement activity in 2025, including the opening of an investigation in December 2025 into alleged anticompetitive practices in the vehicle recycling and decontamination sector.
- The CNMC’s approach reflects a broader enforcement focus on resale price maintenance in 2025, similar in theme to the European Commission’s decisions of 14 October 2025 imposing fines totalling approximately EUR 157 million on luxury fashion brands Gucci, Chloé and Loewe for RPM practices that restricted retailers’ autonomy to set prices.
View the link to the decision here.
