The Australian Subsidiary of Navman satellite GPS navigation systems manufacturer has been fined $1.25 million by the Australian Federal Court after the ACCC sued it for 35 offences alleging illegal price fixing. Two executives of the company were also fined.

Court submission revealed that Navman tried to stop small retailers from cutting prices on Navman GPS systems, threatening withdrawal of stock to avoid complaints from some of its larger retailers. Major customers included Dick Smith Electronics now owned by Woolworths, Harvey Norman, Strathfield Car Radios and Whitworth’s Nautical World.

Navman which commenced in an Auckland garage has grown to a global company that produce portable navigation devices for marine and motor vehicles with Intelligent features such as built-in Real-time Traffic and Route Traffic Overview that lets you know in advance what’s ahead. Safety features such as text-to-speech speaks road names as you approach a turn.