123 COMPETITION LAW future behavior and pricing on the market by trusting to the accuracy of this information.12 The Board’s Relevant Decisions The Board’s main decisions where allegations with regard to hub and spoke have been evaluated are the LSIAD13 and Aral Oyun14 decisions. The LSIAD Decision In this decision, the Board evaluated the allegations that Goodyear, Pirelli and Brisa which are undertakings operating in the tire sector, communicated their sales volume and future price increases. Subsequently, the Board found that the relevant undertakings exchanged information through mutual dealers. In this respect, the Board stated that the mutual dealer served as a hub and therefore, the information exchanged among the competitors through the hub consisted of future pricing strategies. All in all, the Board decided that the dealers did not engage in a competition law violation. Despite the fact that the manufacturer competitors provided information related to their future pricing strategies and that the dealers determined their own prices accordingly, the Board decided that the reason why the dealers communicated this information to the competitor manufacturers was to use this information as a negotiation factor and to ensure buying tires for more affordable prices. For this reason, the Board decided not to launch a full-fledged investigation against the relevant undertakings. 12 Competition Appeal Tribunal’s Tesco Stores Limited, Tesco Holdings Limited, Tesco Stores Plc v. Office of Fair Trading, 2012 CAT 31 decision No. 1188/1/1/11, para. 260, https://www.catribunal.org.uk/sites/default/files/1188_Tesco_Judgment_CAT_31_201212.pdf (Access date: 17.11.2021). 13 The Board’s LSIAD decision No. 15-44/731-266, 16.12.2015 https://www.rekabet.gov.tr/Karar?kararId=bbc4b8ac-90fd-473d-ab4d-1d0052e72a11 (Access date: 16.11.2021). 14 The Board’s Aral Oyun decision No. 16-37/628-279, 07.11.2016, https://www.rekabet.gov.tr/Karar?kararId=2386aaf0-f39a-4ac0-9e6c-cb5a3fcf0789 (Access date: 17.11.2021).
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