Distribution law and consumer law

Putting in place a purchasing strategy is a major challenge for companies in the distribution sector. Our team can help you select the right legal formula (purchasing group, central purchasing unit, international central purchasing unit, etc.) for your specific needs (grouped purchases, clustering, centralization of orders or inventories, etc.), and assist you in the legal structuring of these strategies (commission contract, brokerage, terms and conditions of purchase, etc.). 

Using a multidisciplinary approach, the team's experts will advise you not only on the contractual engineering aspects but also on the antitrust compliance aspects of the contemplated strategies.

Formulating an offer and, more broadly, structuring a sales policy, is a primary concern for companies in the distribution sector. Our team can assist you in formalizing your general conditions of sale and commercial documents. We provide tailor-made advice to help you choose the instruments best suited to your sector and needs, particularly in terms of commercial negotiation (general/specific conditions of sale, order/delivery slips, terms of payment, terms of warranty). 

We also assist you in auditing your offer's compliance with the applicable legal requirements (payment deadlines, delivery times, invoicing, etc.). 

Through a multidisciplinary approach, our team's experts counsel you on the instruments to be used and assist you in auditing the legal and antitrust compliance of their content.

In a context of digital transition and market internationalization, companies must adapt to new marketing processes (marketplaces, platforms). 

Our team can advise you on developing your distribution strategies (physical point of sale/website/platform, direct sales/network sales). 

We can also help you assess the legal compliance of these strategies (commercial urban planning regulations, platform operators’ obligations), and select the most appropriate legal formulas (commercial agency, franchise, exclusive concession, selective distribution).

The digital transition has disrupted the codes of traditional commerce by offering retailers new sales processes (marketplaces, click and collect, drive, web in store, web to store...) and raising new issues (personal data processing, customer data management, electronic payment instruments, liability for connected objects). 

Drawing on the firm's multidisciplinary expertise, our team can help you choose among these new sales processes and audit their compliance with constantly evolving regulations.

The statutory and regulatory provisions of consumer law are meant to apply to all B2C relationships in the distribution sector. The recently revised French Consumer Code compiles a large bulk of the regulations. However, many rules, sometimes sector-specific, are scattered across non-codified or European texts. 

Moreover, lawmakers, seeking to strike a better balance of power between businesses and consumers, have reinforced both the means of action available to consumers (class actions) and the obligations applicable to businesses (obligations specific to online sales). 

Our team can assist you in auditing your commercial policies (online sales, physical points of sale) and practices (consumer information, after-sales service, labeling, advertising, sales) and bringing them into compliance.

Against a backdrop of internationalized sourcing and sales, and of increased consumer protection, compliance with product regulations is a major challenge for companies in the distribution sector. 

The plethora of constantly evolving standards (designations of origin, labels, REACH, etc.) calls for a tailor-made approach to the products concerned. Our team of expert lawyers is here to help you audit your products and bring them into compliance.