The Fair Trade Commission, the country’s antitrust watchdog, is expected to expand its probe into outdoor apparel companies for possible price fixing and related malpractices, industry sources said.
The commission is said to have investigated leading outdoor brands such as The North Face, Kolon Sport and K2.
It will also look into 10 other companies including Black Yak, Millet and Lafuma.
Its probe will include examining the industry’s distribution channels as well as its relationship with suppliers of Gore-Tex materials used for outdoor clothing manufacturing.
This comes as the public outcry has been increasing against such outdoor apparel designers over “extremely high prices,” and the FTC has launched the probe to see whether the industry has unfairly pushed down the supplier prices and made excessive profit through price collusion.
(
hkp@heraldcorp.com)
