Talking Shop January 2023

Welcome to the January 2023 edition of Talking Shop. We hope you've had a successful start to the new year! In this edition we explore "shrinkflation" in Germany, the implementation of three new Directives in Poland, upcoming EU ESG legislation, and much more.

Please get in touch or visit our webpage for more information about Bird & Bird's Retail & Consumer Group.

In this newsletter: 

• Competition & Consumer Law
• Dispute Resolution
• Energy
• ESG
• Franchising
• Tax
• Tech
• News & Events

Competition & Consumer Law

Germany: “Shrinkflation” – pay the same, get less

Recently, shopping in discount stores or supermarkets in Germany and elsewhere has become more and more expensive. At the same time, certain products are also getting lighter. In times of rising prices for commodities and record energy costs, producers are having to make difficult choices to stay profitable, including reducing the weight or quantity of certain products whilst maintaining or increasing the price, a phenomenon often referred to as “shrinkflation”.

Read the full article here

Poland: A revolution in handling consumer complaints – implementation of the Digital Services Directive, the Sale of Goods Directive and the Omnibus Directive

On 1 January 2023, three EU directives were implemented into Poland’s national law: the Digital Services Directive, the Sale of Goods Directive, and the Omnibus Directive. This will impact consumers, as well as all entrepreneurs in both e-commerce and traditional retail.

Read the full article here

Poland: Penalties for companies publishing false reviews

In November 2022, the President of the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection fined two companies for publishing false reviews and ratings of products and services on online platforms. Such actions were deemed to infringe consumer collective interests and constitute unfair market practice.

Read the full article here

UK: Confirmation that instigation and awareness of cartel activity is sufficient to attract a fine under UK competition law

The case of Rangers Football Club demonstrates that instigation and awareness of cartel activity can be sufficient to attract a fine under UK competition law. Despite not having participated directly in the cartel, the UK Competition and Markets Authority found that there was a ‘concurrence of wills’ between The Rangers Football Club Limited, and the cartel’s direct participants: Elite Sports Group Limited and JD Sports Fashion Plc.

Read the full article here

Dispute Resolution

Europe: Take a look at our updated EU Collective Redress Directive implementation tracker

A new EU Directive introduces an EU-wide right for collective actions to be brought on behalf of consumers. The Directive, which entered into force on 20 December 2020 and had to be implemented by 25 December 2022, must come into force in EU member states no later than 25 June 2023. We have been tracking the implementation of the Directive by way of an interactive map to show the extent of its current application, and have recently updated the content as the required implementation date has now passed.

Access the tracker here

Energy

UK: What does the Energy Bill Relief Scheme mean for your business?

Following the emergence of the energy crisis during the course of 2022, the UK Government is seeking to make a number of interventions in the UK energy market. Whilst the relief provided to residential consumers has dominated headlines, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme is aimed at the non-domestic sector. This should be carefully considered to ensure that non-domestic customers both: (i) receive the support they are entitled to; and (ii) comply with any obligations the scheme may place on them.

Read the full article here 

ESG

Europe: Upcoming EU ESG legislation that will impact on the food industry

Food production affects the surrounding environment and ecosystem, and can even contribute to hazardous anthropogenic climate change. Furthermore, food production raises other concerns throughout the supply chain, such as the violation of fundamental and social rights. In light of this, the European Union and its Member States have adopted measures to address the aforementioned issues. In this article, we provide an overview of the recent Environmental, Social, and Governance provisions that are relevant for the food sector.

Read the full article here

Franchising

Europe: The impact of the new VBER and VABEO rules for franchises

The new UK and EU competition law regimes for all types of distribution agreements (including franchises) came into force on 1 June 2022. Franchisors have until 1 June 2023 to get up to speed with the new rules and update their agreements if they do not comply. This article takes a deep dive into what the new rules mean for franchise businesses in the UK and EU.

Read the full article here

Tax

Europe: EU VAT in the Digital Age - major tax and legal implications for businesses

The European Commission announced significant reforms to the EU VAT system on December 8, 2022. The reforms are part of its VAT in the Digital Age initiative, which aims to combat EU VAT revenue loss and to modernise the EU VAT system by making it simpler, more efficient and fit for the digital age. Manon Rieger-Jansen, Head of our international Luxury, Fashion & Retail team, reflects: “Nearly all retailers sell goods via multiple e-commerce channels, including their online branded stores and third party platforms. These EU VAT developments are a big issue impacting the industry.”

Read the full article here

Tech

Global: Tech & Comms challenges, opportunities & predictions for 2023

The easing of travel restrictions over the last year allowed our Tech lawyers to meet with international colleagues and clients for the first time in two years. We used these opportunities to discuss the issues that our clients have identified as being of significant importance to their businesses and the way they innovate. Our 2023 report draws together a range of predictions and observations from our Tech & Comms lawyers, focusing on the nine areas that featured heavily in their discussions.

Read the full report here

News & Events

Our team wins the prestigious Arab Franchise “Franchise Law Firm of the Year" award

The Arab Franchise Awards are a recognition of excellence in the franchise industry of the Arab world. We were delighted to receive the award for "Franchise Law Firm of the Year", which was presented to Melissa Murray at the awards ceremony in Dubai.

Find out more about the Arab Franchise Awards here

Webinar: Green Claims: Join the first in our Business-to-Consumer webinar series

15 March, 17.00 CET

Our International Business-to-Consumer Group is delighted to invite you to the first in our 2023 series of webinars. If you joined our Annual Update in October last year, you’ll remember that we are running this programme to take a deeper dive into the six core pillars of our B2C Group.

During our first webinar on Green Claims, we will explore:

• The recently leaked second Draft EU Directive on Green Claims, which may introduce recognised scientific evidence as the mandatory basis for any Green Claim or, alternatively, the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF) methods as the basis for Green Claims
• The upcoming EU Directive for Empowering consumers for the green transition
• National legislation, guidelines and enforcement in Europe and in the UK
• Reducing the risks of the international use of Green Claims

RSVP here

Save the Date: What's on the Horizon for the Retail & Consumer Sector in the Nordics?

25 April, Copenhagen
26 April, Helsinki
27 April, Stockholm

We will soon be releasing further details about an event series taking place across our Nordic offices. The events will explore the latest trends and hot topics for Retail & Consumer businesses, such as the legal implications of the D2C business model, D&I reporting requirements, security incidents in the sector, and the latest developments in NFTs and the metaverse.

If you would like to receive details about these events, please register your interest here