Tennessee-based trading card company Wild Card “filed an antitrust lawsuit Thursday against industry giant Panini America.” Wild Card alleges Panini “used anticompetitive conduct and monopolization in an attempt to push Wild Card out the market.” It also alleges that Panini “leveraged its market power to enter into unlawful contracts, combinations and conspiracies with distributors and manufacturers.” The lawsuit notes that one distributor who attended Panini’s annual meeting told Wild Card that Panini “called out Wild Card by name and warned distributors carrying Wild Card products that Panini would cut off or downgrade access to card allocations.” Wild Card also “alleges Panini threats ‘effectively blocked Wild Card’s access to essential distribution and production channels required to compete’” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/6).
Panini America is currently engaged in “another legal battle with rival manufacturer Fanatics.” Panini, in its 2023 antitrust filing, alleged Fanatics “had created a trading card monopoly following its acquisition of exclusive licensing rights for the NBA and NFL” (CLLCT.com, 11/6).
Panini has made “similar claims to Topps in the past” that Wild Card made against Panini. Panini finds itself seemingly involved “in both lawsuits, but on opposite sides of the same coin.” This contradiction was highlighted last week when Panini hired Citibank to “help them find possible buyers while at the same time claiming that Topps will make it harder to be profitable moving forward” (SI, 11/6).
