Division (40)

The market in steam cookers is the one on which the new entity has the strongest position with [35-45] % of sales. Its market share has increased by 20 % since 2000 thanks to the improvement in SEB’s sales. A number of factors prompted the Commission to qualify this market position. Firstly, most of the new entity’s sales were made through one distributor, Esselunga, via its fidelity catalogue. SEB is thus very dependent on this distributor. Secondly, Moulinex no longer markets products, its sales being attributable only to the running down of its stocks. It also appears that SEB does not plan to relaunch Moulinex products, Moulinex not being a must-have brand in Italy. Lastly, competitors have advanced, including Braun [10-15] % and Girmi [5-10] %, which tripled its sales in two years.