Thought-provoking discussions, practical insights, and a fresh look at the evolving landscape of agency, commercial distribution and franchise — the 2025 International Distribution Institute Annual Conference in Turin brought together leading voices in the field.

Our Partner and Head of Competition & Antitrust Practice Anastasia Dritsa and IDI Country Expert for Greece on Distribution contributed in a panel exploring the latest developments in EU online advertising restrictions and brand bidding prohibitions, with a focus on:

◼️ 𝐊𝐞𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐬 – tackling brand bidding and the rising cost of search advertising, especially in selective and franchise distribution networks
◼️ 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐝  – what the new VBER means for restricting online advertising, and how far suppliers can go
◼️ 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – why brand image matters and how this impacts the legal permissibility of the restrictions
◼️ 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 under scrutiny – lessons from recent enforcement, including the Caudalie case in Greece

The panel also touched on fast-evolving challenges in the field, including:
◼️ AI in distribution and consumer protection
◼️ The rise of influencer marketing and the role of aggregators
◼️ Navigating platform sales bans in modern selective distribution& franchise systems

A big thank you to the IDI for hosting an excellent event.