DG GROW - Study on territorial supply constraints in the EU retail sector

This survey is being conducted for a study on behalf of the European Commission looking into Territorial Supply Constraints (TSCs) in the EU retail sector.
TSCs are understood as barriers imposed by private operators (manufacturers or wholesalers) in the supply chain, which can affect retailers or wholesalers. They impede or limit the retailers’ or wholesalers’ ability to source goods in other EU countries than the one they are based in, and/or distribute (i.e. resell) them to other EU countries than the one they are based in. Retailers or wholesalers subject to TSCs are usually referred to a specific national subsidiary of the supplier. For example, they can be refused to be supplied from abroad or the products may be differentiated to make cross-border supplying impossible. A situation when a supplier agrees to sell products to a wholesaler or a retailer from abroad under condition that they collect the products themselves directly from the supplier, is not considered a TSC.