Our Free Guide to ROT explains what suppliers of goods can (and can’t) realistically hope to achieve by including Retention of Title clauses in their Conditions of Sale, and how to maximise what can be recovered if and when a customer who owes you money for goods supplied becomes insolvent. It should be read in…
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Do you need a Written Agency or Distribution Agreement with your proposed UK importer? Our Free Guide will help you work through this crucial question, according to whether your importer will be an agent, a distributor, or both.  You will either conclude that you do not need a written agreement, or – more likely –…
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What are the implications for product suppliers of the new EU Food Information Regulation? There are no immediate implications – the bulk of the provisions of the new EU Food Information Regulation* do not take effect until December 2014.  There will be implications at that time in terms of food (which includes alcoholic beverages) labelling…
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An article by Andrew Park published by The Drinks Business suggests how suppliers who deal with the major UK supermarkets can use the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) to improve their margins.  Although primarily aimed at drinks suppliers, the suggestions made apply with equal force to any supplier of any grocery item, located anywhere…
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The UK’s Commercial Agents Regulations 1993 do not expressly address whether a “commercial agent” who represents a principal is permitted to act for other, competing principals.   A recent High Court case has considered and clarified the position. This will help both overseas producers/principals and their UK agents to understand what agents can and cannot…
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The UK wine trade was rocked by the collapses of First Quench (2009) and then Oddbins in 2011.   A lot of wine producers ended up not getting paid for wine they had supplied in good faith.  This is not a wine trade-specific problem – it is an ever-present danger for any producer or manufacturer who…
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In 2006, prompted by concerns about the behaviour and power of the major UK supermarkets, the UK Competition Commission conducted an investigation and concluded that legislation was required to force them to behave more fairly towards their suppliers.  The result was the Groceries (Supply Chain Practices) Market Investigation Order 2009 , which came into effect…
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The roof collapse at the London City Bond Purfleet warehouse in December 2010 damaged or destroyed a significant amount of bonded alcoholic beverage stock, and some stock-owners will suffer substantial losses. In the immediate aftermath of the collapse, the priority for most stock-owners has been to establish whether their stock had been damaged and, if…
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In our recent article on the Volvo case we queried how a German Volvo dealer (i.e. a re-seller, or distributor) could be regarded as a commercial agent, and thus entitled to a goodwill indemnity on termination. It was understood that in Germany and some other EU* countries the courts had permitted distributors to claim a goodwill indemnity…
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The 1986 Commercial Agents Directive (Article 18(a)) provides that no goodwill indemnity is payable to a commercial agent where the principal has terminated the contract “because of default attributable to the commercial agent which would justify immediate termination of the agency contract” . Volvo Germany had an agreement with a dealer which provided for termination by giving…
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