The Commission has contracted a study into territorial supply constraints (TSCs), targeted at retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers.
An online survey gathers business views and experiences on the topic. The Competition Council of Luxembourg would strongly encourage sharing your views by replying to the questionnaire, available until mid-February:
Indeed, some retailers had been signaling to the European Commission obstacles in cross-border purchases of goods. These are constraints set by private operators, which may limit retailers' possibilities to purchase products from whom and from where they want.
It appears that in some cases, retailers based in one Member State and dealing with a multi-national supplier (manufacturer or wholesaler) are lacking the choice to decide from which national entity of the supplier the goods should preferably be sourced. TSCs are presumed to have a role in market segmentation.