No L 348/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 12. 83 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 5§ December 1983 relating to a proceeding under Article 85 of the EEC Treaty (IV/30.668 — Murat) (Only the French text is authentic) (83/610/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962, First Regulation implementing Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty ('), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Greece, and in particular Article 2 thereof, Having regard to the application made by the notifica- tion on 1 June 1982 by the jewellery manufacturer, Murat SA, Viry-Chatillon, France, for clearance or, failing that, exemption of a proposed standard form agreement with the retailers of its products in a number of Community countries, Having regard to the summary of the application published (%) in accordance with Article 19 (3) of Regu- lation No 17, Having heard the opinion of the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions, WHEREAS : I. THE FACTS A. The undertaking (1)  Murat is a public limited company with a regis- tered office at Viry-Chatillon, France, whose shares are mainly held by non-corporate in- vestors. Its main business is the manufacture of gold, silver and gold-plated jewellery, the latter chiefly rolled gold with a high gold content () OJ No 13, 21. 2. 1962, p. 204/62. () O] No C 155, 14. 6. 1983, p. 2. negative (3) which is applied by a process used by Murat since 1847. The company, which owns three factories in France employing about 450, is one of the biggest employers in the French jewellery industry, which despite a tendency towards concentration is still quite widely dispersed. In a secondary capacity Murat also distributes under its brand name jewellery and watches made by others. Murat sells the biggest part of its products on the French market, which accounts for about 90 % of its annual turnover. Its share of that market varies according to the type of product concerned : 4 % for gold, 14 to 15 % for silver, 30 % for gold-plated (making it the market leader in this class) and 60 % for the rolled gold category of gold-plated. Within the EEC Murat exports mainly to Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, but its market share in these countries is quite small. In a small way it has also quite recently entered the United Kingdom, Irish and Dutch markets, and occasi- onally sells to Italy and Greece as well. Its exports to non-EEC countries — Switzerland and latterly also Austria, Spain and countries outside Europe — are fairly insignificant. To promote sales of its brand both inside and outside the common market, Murat has built up a distribution system which operates as follows : the method of supplying retailers varies depend- ing on the country. In France and Germany retailers are supplied by Murat representatives direct. In the Belgium-Luxembourg area its products are marketed to the retailers by an exclusive distributor bound to Murat by an exclusive distribution agreement, which was notified in 1963 and fulfils the conditions of the block