The European Union’s General Court has upheld a €3.5 million antitrust fine against German clothing manufacturer Ahlers, rejecting the company’s appeal over its role in restricting cross-border sales of Pierre Cardin-branded apparel across Europe. In a judgment issued on Wednesday, the Luxembourg-based court backed the European Commission’s calculation of the penalty and upheld the Commission’s finding that Ahlers participated in anti-competitive agreements that violated EU competition law.
The dispute stems from a 2024 European Commission decision finding that Ahlers – the largest licensee of French fashion house Pierre Cardin – and the Pierre Cardin companies engaged in practices designed to limit parallel imports and restrict where licensed products could be sold within the European Economic Area during a period spanning 2008 to 2021. Regulators concluded that the conduct breached Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and corresponding EEA rules prohibiting cartels and restrictive business agreements.
Ahlers did not deny participating in the infringement. Instead, the company challenged the Commission’s method for calculating the fine, arguing that its subsidiary, Ahlers AG, should not have been included in the turnover assessment because the business had been transferred to an investor in July 2023 during insolvency proceedings.
In its May 6 decision, the General Court rejected that argument, ruling that the Commission was entitled to consider the consolidated turnover of the parent company, including Ahlers AG, between Dec. 1, 2022 and July 15, 2023. Judges stated that Ahlers and its subsidiary operated as a “single economic unit” and that the parent company exercised “decisive influence” over Ahlers AG until the transfer was completed. As a result, the subsidiary’s turnover could legally be included when determining the financial penalty under EU antitrust rules.
Under EU competition law, companies can face fines of up to 10 percent of their global annual turnover for antitrust violations.
Ahlers may still appeal the decision to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the EU’s highest court.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The ruling highlights the Commission’s increasingly aggressive enforcement approach toward competition issues in the fashion and luxury sectors. In recent years, EU regulators have intensified scrutiny of licensing arrangements and distribution practices that may fragment the bloc’s single market. The decision also signals that companies operating complex licensing networks can remain liable for antitrust penalties even amid restructuring or insolvency proceedings if regulators determine they continued to function as a single economic entity during the period under review.
The case is Westfälisches Textilwerk Adolf Ahlers Stiftung & Co. KG v European Commission (T-87/25).
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