Franchising and agency
Franchise constructions can sometimes contain elements of agency. In concrete terms, this is the case when the franchisee mediates in the establishment of a transaction between the consumer and the franchisor and/or mediates in the establishment of a transaction between the consumer and a party other than the franchisor.
Examples include constructions in the financial services sector, in which the franchisee mediates, for example, in arranging mortgages between the consumer and a lender to be named (bank or insurance company, or another lender) or constructions in which franchisees take care of for the conclusion of temporary employment or temporary employment contracts between the mediated workers and (a large) client.
If there is a typical franchise situation, i.e. a situation in which the franchisee actively sells his products himself, and also carries out marketing, in short, applies a franchise formula, the competition regulations, as they apply to all franchise relationships, also apply when there are there are agency elements in a franchise construction. Franchisor and franchisee must therefore be aware that in the case of specific termination arrangements, subjects such as exclusive purchase, exclusive territory, etc. must also be dealt with correctly under competition law.
In practice, the fields of agency and franchising can be combined well if the specific elements from both areas are combined in advance and, in particular, communication is made between franchisor and franchisee.
Ludwig & Van Dam franchise attorneys, franchise legal advice
Other messages
Franchisee may purchase a range of foreign products after mandatory formula change – June 6, 2019 – mr. JAJ Devilee
The District Court of East Brabant recently dealt with an important matter in preliminary relief proceedings in which a franchisee was completely involuntarily forced to adopt an alternative formula.
How do I keep my location? – June 6, 2019 – mr. K. Bastian
Location is of great importance to franchisors and franchisees, especially in the retail sector.
Supermarket letter – 25
Supermarket Newsletter No. 25
The benchmark for franchise forecasts – dated 29 May 2019 – mr. AW Dolphin
On 19 March 2019, the Den Bosch Court of Appeal, ECLI:NL:GHSHE:2019:1037, listed the case law of the Supreme Court on prognosis in franchising.
Franchise arbitration: too high a threshold? – mr. M. Munnik
When entering into an agreement, it is possible for the parties - contrary to the law - to designate a competent court. This also applies to the franchise agreement. Of this possibility
Franchise appeal for error due to incorrect forecasts and lack of support rejected – dated April 25, 2019 – mr. K. Bastian
The Court of Appeal of 's-Hertogenbosch ruled (ECLI:NL:GHSHE:2019:697) on the question whether the mere fact that forecasts did not materialize justifies the conclusion that the franchisee has been shortchanged...