Africa-Press – Namibia. SCHOOLS should no longer direct parents/guardians to one shop or store from where to buy school uniforms, the competition commission has said.
The Namibian Competition Commission (NACC) recently said engaging in such exclusive supply agreements is a violation of the competition laws. This directive comes after the commission received numerous complaints from parents and some school uniform suppliers of possible anti-competitive practices in the supply of school uniforms to public and private schools in Namibia.
According to the commission, the complaints alleged that some school uniform suppliers had entered exclusive supply agreements with certain schools. “As a consequence of these exclusive agreements, potential or new school uniform suppliers cannot enter the market to compete with suppliers benefiting from exclusive agreements,” said the Nacc.
“These complaints were assessed to see whether there were possible infringements of the Competition Act, 2003. The commission established the existence of exclusive supply agreements between certain schools and school uniform suppliers,” the commission said.
The commission fears the adverse effects on competition these agreements might have, as they have the potential to prevent and reduce competition by preventing other uniform suppliers from gaining access or growing in the market.
This practice, which has existed for many years, places pressure on parents and guardians to buy uniforms exclusively from the schools’ preferred suppliers, the commission has established.
Those who support this practice, however, said it promotes uniformity, reliability and the alleged ability to meet demand requirements. However, as a consequence of such agreements, consumers are denied the choice of sourcing uniforms from cheaper alternatives.
The commission believes schools should only provide a general standard of items required without dictating where parents/guardians should purchase such items from.
“The commission, therefore, advises schools and uniform suppliers to refrain from further engaging in these exclusive supply agreements, as they may be in contravention of Chapter 3 of the act and may be liable for a pecuniary penalty of up to 10% of an undertaking’s global turnover.”
The commission recommended that school uniform specifications be as generic as possible so that they may be obtained from different suppliers. It also recommended that schools should provide these specifications to pupils/parents/guardians to enable them to make informed decisions as to where they can source their uniforms.
According to the commission, schools should contract all school uniform suppliers in a transparent selection process to afford all suppliers an equal opportunity to compete.
“Contracts between schools and uniform suppliers [should] be limited to a short period, of preferably three years renewable through an open selection process,” said the statement.
The commission said it will monitor developments in the supply of school uniforms and investigate any possible anti-competitive practices. “Consumers are encouraged to report any exclusive uniform supply agreements,” the statement added.
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