EU court rules against cheap jeans - Food Retailing - Levi Strauss doesn't want its jeans sold in supermarkets - Brief Article

Eurofood, Dec 6, 2001

Tesco has lost its fight to import cheap branded goods, in particular Levi jeans from outside the European Union. In what has been described as a victory for business with consumers losing out, the European Court of Justice ruled such goods could only be imported cheaply and sold if consent from the trademark owners could be "unequivocally demonstrated."

UK supermarket chain has been campaigning for three years to sell cheap Levi Strauss jeans it sources from US traders. Levi did not want its jeans and the brand name sold in supermarkets.

Tesco will however still be able to import jeans from within the European Union on the so-called grey market.