Tesco might be looking to increase its number of parallel imports after an interim finding of the European Court of Justice said it supports the grocer’s policy of selling cut price Levi products against the US clothing manufacturer’s wishes.
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The UK’s biggest food retailer is now poised to bulk up its teams of buyers to snap up parallel imports on the grey market.
The decision by the Advocate-General, an adviser to Luxembourg’s European
Court of Justice, is not binding, and the matter is still one for national courts. But the supermarket group said the ruling could set a precedent in the UK judicial system to favour importers such as Tesco.
“We are very sure that the British courts will be on our side,” said Tesco spokesman Simon Soffe.
Tesco has been sourcing products from the grey market for a number of years and has been involved in a stand-off with Levi’s over supplies of its jean since 1999.
