Inspectors from the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, acting with police assistance, conducted searches at the offices of Allegro in Poznań and Warsaw. These actions are part of an explanatory proceeding regarding suspected violations of competition rules in the delivery sector. The regulator is investigating whether the e-commerce giant favored its own logistics methods at the expense of external suppliers, which may have limited choice for millions of platform users.
Service raid on offices
Searches took place simultaneously in Poznań and Warsaw with police involvement.
Suspicion of favoritism
UOKiK is investigating whether Allegro promoted its own parcel lockers at the expense of competition.
Declaration of cooperation
Allegro announced full cooperation with the inspectors to clarify the matter.
Stock market reaction
Information about the operational actions of the services caused a stir among investors on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
On Thursday morning, state services entered key offices of Allegro, including its main headquarters in Poznań and a branch in Warsaw. The operation conducted by UOKiK with the support of police officers aimed to secure evidence in the case of alleged infringement of collective consumer interests and principles of fair competition. The subject of the investigation are logistics mechanisms, specifically shipment recommendation and positioning systems. There is reasonable suspicion that the platform may have technically favored its own solutions, such as the One Box parcel lockers and Allegro courier services, which hindered the operations of competing postal operators. The intervention with police assistance is a procedure used in situations where the regulator has information about the possible destruction of key evidence or when it is necessary to seize digital data directly from servers and workstations. The explanatory proceeding is in rem, meaning it is conducted regarding a matter, not against specific individuals. Allegro, in an issued statement, confirmed the presence of the services and declared full transparency and readiness to cooperate. The company consistently maintains that its business model is fully compliant with applicable law, and that the introduced logistics innovations aim solely to improve buyer comfort and delivery speed. The Polish Act on Competition and Consumer Protection of 2007 gives the President of UOKiK the right to impose financial penalties of up to 10% of a company's annual turnover if abuse of a dominant position is confirmed. Market observers indicate that Thursday's actions may signal a tightening of the Polish regulator's approach towards large digital platforms. The e-commerce industry has long faced challenges related to so-called self-preferencing, i.e., promoting one's own services on markets they manage. If an antitrust fine is imposed, it could reach record levels, considering the scale of the giant's turnover. The situation has resonated widely in financial markets, causing increased volatility in the company's share price on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, where Allegro is one of the key entities in the WIG20 index.