Wholesale & Retail

Wholesale & Retail

The wholesale and retail sector serves everyone: every consumer and every company uses wholesale and retail services and has their own expectations for those services. Someone buying a new car wants a dazzling buying experience, whereas someone buying a week’s worth of groceries values quick basic service—both in store and online. Business customers on the other had want their needs to be anticipated and value close cooperation to support their operations.

Success also takes efficiency. This can be seen in the concentration and internationalisation of the sector as well as in the proliferation cooperation arrangements. Technology and data are increasingly being leveraged to find that efficiency. Companies are automating their logistics and are developing new service models guided by diverse data streams, for example, data collected from loyal customer programmes. Technology is even altering the deep structures of the sector as the EU’s digital internal markets are developing.

We know the legal issues facing the wholesalers and retailers, from traditionally important personnel issues to data protection and technology. We can also provide you with boutique services, for example, in contractual issues and cooperation arrangements.

Latest references

Life Finland – Administration of bankruptcy estate

Life Finland Oy, a retailer of natural products, other health-related products and cosmetics, filed for bankruptcy on its own initiative in June 2025, and our attorney, counsel Elina Pesonen was appointed administrator of the bankruptcy estate. Life Finland Oy was part of the international Life Group, and its parent company Life Europe AB was declared bankrupt in Sweden in June 2025. When declared bankrupt, Life Finland Oy had over 30 operational stores and almost 170 employees across Finland. In addition to the premises of the operational stores, the company had several other leased premises, such as retail premises it was vacating as well as office and warehouse spaces. The bankruptcy estate organised clearance sales in all of the company’s stores. The shutdown of the stores and the clearance sales were efficiently carried out in approximately two weeks in cooperation with the company’s country manager, regional managers and sales staff. The clearance sales yielded a significant liquidation result, and consumers bought nearly the entire inventory. The administration of the bankruptcy estate has required expertise in many areas. The proceedings have dealt with specialised issues such as cash pooling arrangements, intellectual property, franchising agreements, employment relationships and consumer creditors. In addition, the proceedings are notably international, as the estate administrator has organised the shutdown of operations and the liquidation of assets in close cooperation with the estate administrators of the Swedish Group companies. The cooperation has included, among other things, exploring opportunities for selling the business, the sale of intangible rights and the coordination of intra-group agreements.

Vapaus Group – Acquisition of Azfalte

We represented Vapaus Group, a leading provider of employee bicycle benefit services, in its cross-border acquisition of Azfalte, a French corporate bicycle solutions company. The acquisition accelerates Vapaus Group’s international expansion and strengthens its position in sustainable mobility by combining Vapaus’s digital platform and circular-economy capabilities with Azfalte’s established enterprise programs and partner network in France. The transaction advances Vapaus’s growth strategy and increases its ability to help employers meet well-being and sustainability goals in one of Europe’s most dynamic cycling markets. Vapaus Group is at the forefront of sustainable mobility services and has been a pioneer in the employee bicycle benefit sector since 2020 with a vision to become the leading bicycle benefit service in Europe. Vapaus has automated the employee bicycle process through its technology platform, covering payroll, invoicing, logistics, insurance, and financing. Azfalte, founded in 2020, is a pioneer of corporate cycling in France, optimizing financing, tailored bikes, insurance, maintenance, assistance, training, and carbon tracking for the benefit of its clients.

Lantmännen – Acquisition of Leipurin from Aspo

We advised Lantmännen ek för in its contemplated acquisition of Leipurin from Aspo Plc. Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and Northern Europe’s leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy and food products. Lantmännen is owned by 17,000 Swedish farmers and has 12,000 employees in over 20 countries. Leipurin is a leading Nordic supplier of bakery ingredients, equipment, and expert services to professional bakeries, confectioneries, and food manufacturers. The company operates across Finland, Sweden, and the Baltic countries with subsidiaries located in the aforementioned countries, providing comprehensive solutions to the baking industry. The closing of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.

BMW AG – Enforcement of BMW’s trademark and design rights

We successfully represented BMW in an exceptionally long dispute over whether the spare rims sold by the defendant and the hub caps included in them infringed BMW’s trademark and design rights. The Market Court found that the sign used by the defendant caused a likelihood of confusion with BMW’s trademarks. The defendant had used the sign on the hub caps and in the marketing of the hub caps and rims, leading the Market Court to find that the defendant had infringed BMW’s trademark rights. The defendant admitted to infringing BMW’s Community design but denied the related injunction claim. However, the Market Court found that there was no particular reason to refrain from issuing an injunction. The Market Court prohibited the defendant from continuing to infringe BMW’s trademarks and Community design and ordered the defendant to alter or destroy the products and marketing materials that infringed BMW’s rights. Furthermore, the Market Court ordered the defendant to pay BMW EUR 70,000 in reasonable compensation and EUR 80,000 in damages for the trademark infringements, as well as EUR 7,000 in reasonable compensation and EUR 8,000 in damages for the design right infringement. The amounts can be considered exceptionally high in Finland. Additionally, the Market Court ordered the defendant to pay a significant portion of BMW’s legal costs with interest on late payment. In its decision of 11 March 2025, the Supreme Court of Finland did not grant the defendant leave to appeal, and also decided that there was no need to seek a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union. Thus, the Market Court’s judgements (MAO:494/18 and 517/2023) are final. In addition to the main dispute, BMW demanded in a separate proceeding that one of the defendant’s trademark registrations be revoked. A total of three separate legal proceedings were conducted in the Market Court regarding the revocation. The defendant’s trademark registration was ultimately revoked.

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