Dis-Chem charged for hiking mask prices
Pharmacy group Dis-Chem has been charged for inflating prices of some essential goods during the national lockdown.
The charges come after the Competition Commission investigated 11 retailers which were accused of inflating prices after the lockdown had been announced.
The commission has referred the matter to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution.
The commission's spokesperson Sipho Ngwenya says the the probe found that the pharmaceutical giant hiked the prices of masks.
The initial investigation showed certain products had been given an up to 261% mark-up.
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"From at least 28 March… the commission received several complaints from the public against several retail stores owned by Dis-Chem for engaging in excessive pricing of face masks, specifically dusk and surgical masks.
"Subsequently, the commission established that, prior to the declaration of a national state of disaster, Dis-Chem was selling the three types of masks, namely, surgical face masks blue 50PC, surgical face masks 5PC and surgical face masks foliodress blue at far lower prices."
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