Antitrust Liability Traps In The "agency Model" – What To Watch Out For

It is not just in the automotive industry that commercial representative models or "agency models" are currently booming. More and more manufacturers - across the board - are changing the distribution of their products to commercial representatives or are planning to do so in the next few years. From the principal's point of view, these models are very advantageous: they give the principal greater influence over the design and compliance of its distribution system as well as on the price level of its products and services, and enable greater proximity to the end customer.

However, these advantages come at a price. Agency models usually not only bear a significantly higher economic risk for the principal (e.g. the risk of payment default by the customer), they also pose challenges in terms of antitrust compliance, which can quickly become expensive if not observed.