In the EU member state Czechia, there were four retail groups for sporting equipment: Jablonec, Karvin, Mlad Boleslav and Sigma Olomouc. Each retail group owned and operated a large number of shops selling sporting equipment in cities and towns across Czechia. On a national level, the four groups' retail market shares were as follows: Jablonec 40%, Karvin 20%, Mlad Boleslav 20% and Sigma Olomouc 20%. AC Gottwald was a market research and consultancy company operating in Czechia. One of its services was to collect process and report market information such as average prices, volumes and market shares for customers in various sectors of the Czech economy. Such reports were typically provided to customers on a monthly basis based on historic and aggregated data for the previous month. In January 2022 AC Hansen launched a new market intelligence web service to the four retail groups for sporting equipment. AC Gottwald was given real time access to the cash register data from all the four retail groups' shops. AC Gottwald new computer technology instantly processed the incoming cash register data. By logging in to AC Gottwald's web portal for market information for sporting equipment, each of the four retail groups could get accurate and instant information on current prices for individual sport products in all the sporting equipment shops in Czechia. AC Gottwald's own market information showed that the retail prices for sporting equipment had become more uniform after the launch of the new web service. Jablonec also held a market share of 40 % in many national wholesale markets for the purchase of various types of sporting equipment from producers. The other three sporting groups' market shares in these purchasing markets also reflected their retail market shares. In June 2022 Jablonec began renegotiating its purchasing contracts with manufacturers and importers of sporting equipment. Jablonec insisted that the new contracts included a so-called Most-Favoured-Customer clause (MFC clause) whereby the suppliers guaranteed that none of the other retail groups for sporting equipment in Czechia would receive lower prices or better terms than Jablonec. The producers preferred not including MFC clauses in their contracts with Jablonec, but since Jablonec refused to continue a business relationship without such a clause, the producers unwillingly accepted the new contractual condition.

Question 1: Discuss whether AC Gottwald and/or the four retail groups for sporting equipment infringe Article 101 TFEU by applying the new market intelligence web service. Substantiate your answer. Question 2: Discuss whether the Most-Favoured-Customer clauses infringe Article 102 TFEU. Substantiate your answer.