Selective distribution agreements. Open points. Interpretative solutions (ESI-UNI)

Selective distribution is the system through which suppliers, particularly in the luxury, technically complex, and brand-sensitive sectors, organise the commercialisation of their goods so as to preserve product quality, brand image, and a uniform consumer experience. It has long occupied a distinctive place within EU competition law, progressively shaped by the case law of the Court of Justice from the Metro judgment onwards and by successive block exemption regulations. Notwithstanding this, the system continues to give rise to a series of interpretative questions that are not fully resolved. While Regulation (EU) 2022/720 and the corresponding Vertical Guidelines have undoubtedly clarified some matters, they have left others open, and have raised, in part, new ones.
Among these are questions relating to the notion of a distributor, the product and territorial scope of the system, the role of physical premises, dual pricing, and the limits placed on coordination and information exchange within the network. This book takes up those questions, and through a systematic examination of the law relating to selective distribution as it stands, proposes solutions grounded in a combined doctrinal, jurisprudential, and comparative analysis.