14 DAY TRIAL // Last August, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Services launched an investigation into Apple over alleged price-fixing of iPhones sold in the country. Apple denied any involvement in the matter and stated that retailers set their own prices for products.
After a lengthy investigation, Russian officials reached the conclusion that Apple had indeed fixed prices of iPhones in the country, according to The Financial Times. The company was found guilty of fixing prices of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 models.
Apple had instructed 16 retailers in Russia to set prices for the two iPhone models at a certain level. If a retailer didn’t comply and set the price at an “unsuitable” level, Apple would order them to change the price or risk having the sales agreement terminated.
Prices for multiple iPhone models were fixed
The report mentions that Apple had imposed a certain price for iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus for three months after their official launch in Russia. Apple has yet to comment on the matter, but Russian officials stated that the Cupertino company cooperated during the whole investigation.
Apple now has three months to file a challenge to the ruling, and in the worst case scenario, the company could be fined with 15% of its sales in Russia. However, a resolution in the matter will possibly be reached in a few months.
This is essentially likely, as any product that reaches retailers has a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), also referred to as recommended retail price (RRP). MSRP is the price at which the manufacturer recommends that the retailers sell the product.
It was introduced in order to standardize prices among locations, so that a certain product would cost roughly the same at all retailers around the world. Of course, a number of costs must be taken into account when setting the price of a product.