The retail and consumer goods sector is one of the most dynamically developing areas and demands that companies adjust promptly to quickly changing consumer preferences and apply their maximum effort to ensure steady growth in such a competitive environment. On the other hand, wide discretional powers and insufficiently transparent requirements by the regulatory bodies, as well as a history of close attention being paid by the state authorities in this area, create additional risks and require serious examination before making of any business decisions.
We have extensive experience in this area and help clients make the best decisions. Some of the major Ukrainian and international food, beverage, home appliance, and other consumer goods manufacturers and distributors, as well retailers, are among our clients.
We regularly advise leading Ukrainian and multi-national companies in this sector. In particular, we are proud to have contributed to the growth of the following companies:
Coca-Cola Ukraine Limited and Coca-Cola European Union Group by advising on a wide variety of Ukrainian legal issues, including regulatory, corporate governance, media & advertising, tax, employment, customs and IP issues. This included the attempted acquisition of Ukraine's largest juice producer, Sandora, and litigation in Ukrainian courts defending the company's IP rights associated with Coca-Cola Light and the Silver Lady advertising campaign
Lantmannen Axa, L'Oreal, Phillip Morris, Bunge, HiPP and others by counselling on various competition compliance issues arising in relation to product sales and promotion
METRO Cash and Carry, Watsons and others, by helping them streamline their contractual arrangements with suppliers, as well as the provision of marketing services
Molson Coors, Elite Ukraine, KIBE SA and others, in advising on various issues of intellectual property law, including on the labelling and import of goods, and also trademark protection
Nutrilux by securing clearance from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine for their acquisition of Provimi SA and for Compagnie Gervais Danone to merge with Springs of Eden B.V
Henkell & Sohnlein, a European sparkling wine producer, by assisting in the acquisition of the Kiev Factory of Sparkling Wines Stolychny
Intersnack Knabber-Geback, a major German producer of salted snacks, by assisting in their attempted acquisition of a Ukrainian potato chips plant