Protecting free competition
We believe in the power of free competition. We want to support and develop it in every possible way. On this basis, at Athenian Brewery we implement measures in order to ensure compliance with the Decision 590/2014 of the Hellenic Competition Commission and, respectively, the rules on the protection of free competition. Moreover, in collaboration with the competent authorities, we commit and implement our sales strategy in accordance with the requirements of the Hellenic Competition Commission.
In this framework, we apply a complete and dynamic compliance program, which includes the following:
- A system for the control and compliance of the company’s contracts with the requirements of competition law.
- Preparing special manuals, policies and guidelines for the company’s executives, employees and partners regarding the fulfillment of the commitments that arise due to the rules on the protection of free competition.
- Planning and implementing an extensive training program to familiarize human resources with the relevant rules.
- Establishing a mechanism for continuous control, reporting and assistance for every company employee or partner, as well as supervision of the mechanism by an internal independent institution.
The strengthening of the competition in the Greek brewing market during the last 15 years has confirmed the principle that competition offers advantages to the consumer and incentives to the producing businesses. The development of both local breweries and microbreweries has expanded consumers’ options and favored innovation as well as the circulation of new products.
This continuous and dynamic compliance procedure reflects our company’s clear commitment to shaping its daily operations based on the rules of Fair Competition. For the benefit of the economy, society and our employees, we aim to contribute to the smooth operation of the Greek market and the development of healthy entrepreneurship. This way, we protect the company’s reputation and prevent it from harm, while respecting its historical position in the Greek market.
Professional Code of Conduct & Competition Policy
We always conduct our business in accordance with the Law and the Rules on Free Competition. At Athenian Brewery, we constantly work to fairly distinguish ourselves in comparison to the global competition in terms of innovation and high quality products. We respect and fully comply with the Greek, European and international legislation on Free Competition. Therefore, we require the same actions from all our employees and partners while conducting business activities related to Athenian Brewery.
Compliance with the rules of healthy competition is a fundamental part of our Professional Code of Conduct, as it is crucial for our company’s reputation, its long-term financial viability and its success and development in the Greek market.
Our Board of Directors unconditionally commits to the aforementioned compliance of our company, so that Athenian Brewery may refrain from any business activity that could violate the principles governing the Professional Code of Conduct and its Competition Policy. As a company, we pledge that:
As a company, we commit to:
At Athenian Brewery, we compete fairly regarding the value and high quality of our products and we strongly support the existence of free and open markets. We fully implement and respect the law and the rules that have been established in order to protect and promote competition.
We strive to ensure that all interactions and communications with any of our competitors comply with the law and the rules on free competition and are always examined according to the aforementioned rules. We always ensure not to enter into horizontal cooperation agreements that may create competition problems. Indicative examples of practices that are prohibited and which our company refrains from implementing include the cooperation between companies that agree on setting the prices or determining production or market sharing, with negative effects on prices, production, product variety and quality or innovation.
We will not be part of any collusive tactics or cartels. We do not exchange strategic information that may facilitate the coordination of companies’ competitive behavior or any action that may result in the restriction of the competition.
In those cases where we, as Athenian Brewery, hold a dominant position in a market, we take care to fully respect our responsibility for not restricting competition.
We support unrestricted competition in the market by ensuring that our commercial behavior is in line with our special responsibility. Therefore, our actions cannot be characterized by any tying or bundling practices nor any practice regarding the use of exclusive purchasing obligations or rebates intended to exclude or restrict our competitors. At the same time, we stand against any predatory practices or refusal to supply with the aim of margin squeezing, respectively aiming at anti-competitive exclusion
We carefully examine all our company practices in order to ensure their legality and we refrain from any behavior that violates the competition law. An example would be to grant exclusive rights to customers or suppliers, or to draw up agreements that restrict the way in which products can be resold or priced.
***
The Athenian Brewery Board of Directors insists on the strict implementation of the compliance program with the competition law, the Professional Code of Conduct and the individual internal policies and guidelines relating to issues of compliance with the competition law.
In order to fully inform and train our executives in relation to the requirements of the rules on free competition, specialized seminars for compliance with the Rules of Competition Law are carried out on a regular basis, while the organization has received detailed information material on these topics.
As a company, we strive to always be compliant with the rules of competition law and the commitments resulting from these rules.
