Retailer JD Sports, sporting goods firm Elite Sports and Rangers Football Club have been provisionally found by the UK competition watchdog to have conspired to fix prices of Rangers club clothing merchandise. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) alleges that the two retailers, with help from Rangers, colluded to keep prices of Rangers-branded replica kits high so they could “pocket more money for themselves at the expense of fans”.
The CMA warned they will face fines if they are found to have broken competition law. It alleges that Elite Sports and JD Sports fixed the retail prices of a number of Rangers-branded replica kits and other clothing products from September 2018 until at least July 2019.
It also said that Rangers Football Club took part in the alleged collusion, but only to the extent of fixing the retail price of adult home short-sleeved replica shirts from September 2018 to at least mid-November 2018. All three are alleged to have colluded to ensure that the price of a Rangers shirt was not cheaper at JD Sports than in Elite’s Gers Online store, according to the CMA.
