FK Distribution has been found guilty of abusing its dominant position in the market for distributing physical advertising leaflets, according to the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority. The Maritime and Commercial High Court has ruled against the advertising distributor, a decision North Media intends to appeal to the High Court.

The case originated after PostNord ceased distributing physical advertising leaflets in January 2018, leaving FK Distribution as the sole nationwide player. Following this, FK Distribution introduced a condition requiring the purchase of digital advertising display on its platforms, including minetilbud.dk, alongside the distribution of physical leaflets. The Danish Competition and Consumer Authority deemed this condition likely to restrict competition and therefore illegal.

North Media’s CEO, Lasse Ingemann Brodt, expressed strong disagreement with the judgment, stating that two out of five judges believed FK Distribution did not abuse its position. Brodt argues that the case concerns the ability of Danish media and marketing channels to compete against global online giants.

The Competition Council initially reached the same conclusion in 2020, a decision FK Distribution appealed. The company stated at the time that the case was a matter of principle and they were confident they would be upheld. FK Distribution also claimed to have changed its practices following the initial decision. The abuse occurred from 2018 to October 2019, according to the Authority. The Competition Appeals Tribunal upheld the Competition Council’s decision in April 2021.

The Competition Council has previously reported the case to the police for potential criminal prosecution, a decision that awaited the Maritime and Commercial High Court’s judgment.