3 Firms Raided over Allegedly Rigged Seven-Eleven Refrigeration Bids

Tokyo, July 14 (Jiji Press)--Japan’s Fair Trade Commission raided three companies Tuesday over suspected bid-rigging in contracts to supply refrigeration equipment for Seven-Eleven Japan Co. stores, informed sources said.

The FTC searched the offices of Fuji Electric Co. in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward, Nakano Refrigerators Co. in the capital’s Minato Ward and SDRS Inc. in the city of Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, for allegedly violating the antimonopoly law.

According to the sources, the three companies are suspected of having prearranged winners for each prefecture in bids held every few years by Seven-Eleven Japan to select suppliers of refrigerated and frozen display cases for convenience stores across the country.

The successful bidders were in charge of installing refrigeration equipment at newly opened and renovated Seven-Eleven outlets during the contract periods. In recent years, the three companies have won most of the orders from the major convenience store chain operator.

Seven-Eleven Japan buys the equipment and leases it to franchise operators, which account for about 99 pct of the company’s total outlets in the country.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]