News
The Danish Competition Appeals Tribunal: Botex Prevails in Competition Case
The Danish Competition Appeals Tribunal has decided that there is not sufficient basis to establish that the voluntary retail chain Botex infringed the prohibition on anti-competitive agreements under competition law. At the same time, the Appeals Tribunal annuls the Danish Competition Council’s decision of March 2025, which found that Botex had infringed competition rules. Specifically, the Tribunal applies a different interpretation of, inter alia, the Commission’s Horizontal Guidelines than that adopted by the Danish Competition Council.
The case concerns an agreement between the members of the voluntary retail chain Botex. Botex is a nationwide, voluntary chain consisting of 24 independent members, each owning one or more Botex stores and/or curtain vans. The members sell home textiles, including curtains, window coverings, towels, bed linen, duvets, and more at the retail level. The relevant agreement included, among other things, a prohibition against distributing advertisements to households in territories allocated to other members of the chain.
Originally, in June 2022, the Danish Competition Council decided that Botex had infringed competition rules. Botex appealed the decision to the Danish Competition Appeals Tribunal, which in October 2023 remitted the case for re-examination by the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority (the DCCA). The DCCA reconsidered the case, and in March 2025, the Danish Competition Council again found an infringement of competition rules. It is this decision that the Competition Appeals Tribunal has now annulled.
For further information
Contact Head of Communications, Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, Hanne Arentoft, at +45 41 71 50 98.