Asda increases luxury brands range
High court ruling considers grey market burden of proof
August 11 2002
ASDA has put additional stocks of luxury fragrances and watches on sale.
The move comes as a high court ruling attempts to clamp down on cut-price designer goods from grey market.
The case centres around whether consent for luxury goods sold in the EU should be assumed or proved. Retailers have argued that consent should be assumed unless there’s documentary evidence to the contrary. Brand owners argue that they must give explicit consent for retailers like ASDA to bring down prices on big brands.
Asda’s speciality director David Miles said: “Brand owners want a ‘cake and eat it’ judgement to keep prices high. They’re seeking a ruling that lets them continue using the grey market to offload their products, backed by rights to take legal action when official distributors complain about lower prices in stores like ours.”
Asda want o increase its partnerships with brand owners to end the grey market stand-off, and points to deal with Inspecs, licence holder for French Connection and fcuk, to sell products in Asda’s in-store opticians. Miles said: “Forward-thinking brand owners are catching on to the fact that we’re the new department stores of the 21st century. They know that by ignoring us they risk disappointing customers who expect to buy an increasing range of goods with their weekly groceries.”
