Dischem has responded to charges laid against them by the Competition Commission where they are accused of inflating their prices on certain essential goods during the State of National Disaster, as proclaimed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Commission referred the retailer to the Competition Tribunal yesterday after their investigations found Dischem to have marked up prices on their facial masks.
According to the Commission prices for different masks were inflated by between 43% and 261%.
The retailer's input costs with regards to the surgical face masks did not increase but their gross profit margins inflated from 20% in February 2020 to 45% in March 2020, according to the Commission.
Dischem took to Twitter in response to an article posted by the SABC where they said they were consulting their legal teams and economic experts to oppose the complaint referral.
The retailer said they do not believe that the information and data provided by the Competition Commission during the investigation established any contravention of the Competition Act.
They also argue that the data provided was misunderstood.
