Cape Town - The Competition Appeals Court (CAC) has dismissed the appeal of two bicycle wholesalers, saying doing nothing amounted to agreeing to fix prices.

The CAC upheld a Tribunal finding that Omnico and Coolheat engaged in conduct directly and indirectly in contravention of the Competition Act, namely agreeing as competitors to fix prices. This ruling brought an end to the long-running bicycle cartel case.

In 2008, some 20 bicycle retailers and wholesalers contravened the Competition Act in that while being competitors in the market for the supply and delivery of bicycles and bicycle accessories, they agreed to fix prices. This resulted from a meeting held on 10 September 2008.