Pricing and Public Policy Issues

Companies adopt pricing policies to maximize the revenues and profits generated. Some of the policies are not fair. Major public policy issues in pricing include unfair pricing practices within distribution channel levels such as price-fixing and predatory pricing, and across distribution channel levels such as retail price maintenance, deceptive pricing, and discriminatory pricing. Companies set dynamic pricing and high prices for products to cover distribution costs, advertising and promotion costs, and excessive mark-ups. Companies try adopting fair pricing policies. Nevertheless, laws and regulations are enforced to ensure that the policies are followed and customers are benefited. Sometimes, it is difficult to ensure that the practices are legal and ethical. Governments and companies should also be aware about the pricing implications of the social goods used by customers. Proper understanding and implementation of pricing policies will benefit both companies and customers and help in developing sustainable strategies and long-term customer relationships.

Pricing and Public Policy Issues

Companies adopt pricing policies to maximize the revenues and profits generated. Some of the policies are not fair. Major public policy issues in pricing include unfair pricing practices within distribution channel levels such as price-fixing and predatory pricing, and across distribution channel levels such as retail price maintenance, deceptive pricing, and discriminatory pricing. Companies set dynamic pricing and high prices for products to cover distribution costs, advertising and promotion costs, and excessive mark-ups. Companies try adopting fair pricing policies. Nevertheless, laws and regulations are enforced to ensure that the policies are followed and customers are benefited. Sometimes, it is difficult to ensure that the practices are legal and ethical. Governments and companies should also be aware about the pricing implications of the social goods used by customers. Proper understanding and implementation of pricing policies will benefit both companies and customers and help in developing sustainable strategies and long-term customer relationships.

Vertical Agreements

Alison Jones looks at vertical agreements in Chapter 3. This chapter charts the development of UK competition law and policy towards vertical agreements over the 20 years since the Competition Act 1998 came into force. It traces how UK policy has evolved, before examining the UK jurisprudence that assesses the compatibility of vertical agreements with competition law. It notes that although many UK cases initially focused on resale price maintenance, more recently a number have analysed vertical restraints affecting online selling, which have proliferated since 2000 with the rapid growth of e-commerce. The chapter also considers how the law could, or should, develop in the future, especially now the transition period following the UK’s departure from the EU has ended. An important issue considered is whether, post-Brexit, the UK authorities should continue to follow EU competition law in this sphere, which has in significant respects been influenced by internal market considerations, or whether it should take a different course.

Consumer Protection in Resale Price Maintenance Practices

Fair business competition is greatly needed to create a conducive business climate. Regulations governing the fair business competition are expected to ensure the business opportunities for business actors and to prevent monopolistic practices and or unfair business competitions, and at the same time to protect the consumers. In Indonesia, the Resale Price Maintenance (RPM) is applied as an effort or actions of the upstream businesses such as manufacturing companies or suppliers to control the price when the goods are resold. Control and supervision of the Resale Price Maintenance practices are necessary considering that the monopolistic practice that creates unfair business competition is still common in the society. This study aimed to reveal how consumer protection in the Resale Price Maintenance practices works. This study was conducted using the normative or doctrinal research method with the statute and conceptual approaches. From the findings, it can be concluded that the consumer protection in Resale Price Maintenance practices is still very frail so that it is necessary to reconstruct the provisions in resale price maintenance which can be performed by reconstructing the criminal sanctions for business actors who violate the resale price maintenance regulations that can cause monopolistic practices and unfair business competitions.