ANALYSIS: Big Fine for Fender Provides Lesson in Playing Along

On Jan. 22, the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced a record fine to guitar manufacturer Fender Musical Instruments Europe Ltd. for resale price maintenance (RPM), the practice of illegally enforcing a minimum price for Fender’s products against retailers who were offering a discount.

The stiff fine, £4.5 million ($5.9 million), is for an alleged scheme to keep prices uniform across retailers from 2013 through 2018. The amount exceeds the previous record, £3.7 million ($4.8 million), which the CMA fined piano maker Casio for similar conduct in August 2019. Casio’s fine was discounted because the company admitted fault ...