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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) connected Friday (May 8, 2026) ordered an probe into French liquor radical Pernod Ricard implicit alleged exclusive deals with retailers to beforehand its brands astatine the expense of rivals, a regulatory bid showed.
The watchdog has been reviewing allegations since 2024 that Pernod, whose brands see Chivas Regal and Absolut vodka, colluded with retailers successful New Delhi to boost its marketplace share.
The ailment alleges that Pernod provided $24 cardinal successful firm guarantees to its bankers successful 2021 to assistance city retailers unafraid loans, with retailers successful crook ensuring 35% of the banal in their shops comprised Pernod brands.
The CCI said it recovered merit in the allegations, noting successful its bid that "the non-dealing successful the merchandise of the competitors ... is apt to effect successful distortion of request by mode of moving retail request distant from the competing brands."
In a statement connected Saturday (May 9), Pernod told Reuters it "unequivocally denies immoderate wrongdoing" and volition cooperate with the CCI if the authorities interaction the company.
"We run to the highest standards of compliance and governance, and we are assured that our concern practices afloat adhere to the laws and regulations of the country. We presumption immoderate allegations to the contrary arsenic without merit," it said successful a statement.
The allegations were made by an idiosyncratic identified lone by the archetypal sanction Mohit, who has a grounds of taking up nationalist involvement litigations.
The lawsuit adds to challenges for Pernod successful India, its largest marketplace by income volume. The institution competes with Diageo among others successful the marketplace and reported income of ₹274.45 cardinal ($3 billion) successful 2024-25.
A Pernod India bureau was raided successful 2024 successful a abstracted antitrust case. The institution is besides contesting a $250 cardinal national taxation request and faces different probe into alleged violations of New Delhi's liquor policy, which it denies.
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The CCI's probe portion volition present analyse the lawsuit successful detail, a process that can instrumentality months earlier a last order.
Friday's (May 8) bid referred to a 2021 interior Pernod email in which executives discussed gaining a "strategic advantage" crossed New Delhi zones and providing €23 cardinal ($27 million) successful enactment to retailers bidding for licences.
The CCI said this amounted to distorting retail request to payment Pernod.
"Such an enactment is likely to effect successful regularisation of prime to extremity consumers alternatively than payment them successful immoderate manner," CCI said successful its order.
An interior probe by Pernod aboriginal recovered elder executives astatine its India portion had violated the instrumentality by colluding with retailers successful New Delhi, adjacent arsenic the institution has denied wrongdoing successful tribunal and publicly, Reuters reported successful 2024.
