YKK led a €328M zipper cartel — the world's biggest fastener maker rigged prices for years

YKK Corporation, the world's largest zipper manufacturer, led a price-fixing cartel in the European fasteners market from May 1999 to November 2003. The cartel covered zippers, buttons, press fasteners, and other attachment systems used in clothing, footwear, luggage, and textile goods. Participants coordinated prices, allocated customers, and exchanged commercially sensitive information through a series of secret meetings and bilateral contacts across the European Economic Area.

The European Commission uncovered the cartel after Prym Group, the third-largest player, applied for immunity under the 2002 Leniency Notice and provided decisive evidence. Coats, the second-largest player, cooperated and received a 30% reduction. YKK, as the ringleader, received a 50% fine increase. On 19 September 2007, the Commission imposed fines totaling €328 million: YKK Group €150 million, Coats €122 million, Scovill €10.5 million, Berning & Söhne €3.5 million, and Koh-i-noor €1.5 million. Prym received full immunity.

YKK appealed the decision to the General Court of the European Union, arguing the fine was disproportionate and challenging its designation as the ringleader. The General Court largely upheld the Commission's decision in 2011 but slightly reduced the fine due to a minor procedural error. In October 2014, the European Court of Justice further reduced part of the fine from €19.25 million to €2.79 million. The core finding of the cartel was never overturned.