Two Steinway dealers are guilty of price fixing
mainThe well-known Zurich firms Musik Hug and AKHZ Management (formerly Krompholz) have been hit by the Swiss competition commission with a massive fine of half a million Swiss francs for price fixing.
The two firms were found to have conspired to fix prices and discounts illegally on upright and grand pianos made by Steinway & Sons and Grotrian-Steinweg. A third conspirator, La Bottega del Pianoforte, was exempted from the penalty after admitting its involvement.
One offence involved the sale of a Steinway to a public institution, the Zurich Hochschule der Künste.
Some details here and here (auf Deutsch).
Krompholz used to be the Steinway dealer in Bern, not Zurich. Which raises the question: If a dealer from Bern can submit an offer to fulfill the search for the HdK pianos (in Zurich), why was a dealer from Tessin denied the right to do so?