France slaps Rolex with $100 million fine

France's competition regulator on Tuesday imposed a fine of 91.6 million euros on the local subsidiary of Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Rolex for blocking retailers from selling online.

The regulator said it considered that the prohibition Rolex had imposed on retailers restricted competition and rejected the argument that the ban on online selling was justified by the need to combat counterfeiting and parallel trade.

It noted that Rolex's main competitors, "who face the same risks, authorise the online selling of their products under certain conditions".

Given that Rolex had imposed the online sales ban for more than 10 years, it imposed the fine equivalent to $100.5 million.

Rolex declined to comment when contacted by AFP.