The consumer goods sector remains one of the main sectors to be scrutinised by the UK and European competition regulators. Enforcement activity at EU and national level continues. Both within the UK and across continental Europe there are a number of key competition and regulatory law developments that will impact on all consumer goods companies. The European Commission has encouraged competition authorities to maintain vigorous and coherent enforcement in this sector.

Senior regulators, lawyers, economists and company representatives have been brought together for this GCR one-day conference to offer practical advice and expert comment on:

• Unilateral and reciprocal information flows
• Challenges of the EC horizontal guidelines
• 'Hub & spoke' cartels
• Use of third party data providers
• The growth of sector regulation: private labels; buyer power; unfair commercial practices code; best practice guidelines
• Joint purchasing
• Category management including the French competition authority recommendations

The latest developments in consumer product mergers

08.30 Registration and coffee

09.00 Chairman’s Overview

09.15 Information Flows in the Industry

• Unilateral and reciprocal information flow
• The challenges of the EC horizontal guidelines
• ‘Hub and spoke’ cartels – where are we now in the UK? Experiences learned
• ‘Hub and spoke’ cartels – what is happening on the Continent?
• Use of third party data providers

Andrea Gomes da Silva (panel chair)
Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Andrew Groves
Director, Markets and Projects, Office of Fair Trading
Frank Wijckmans
Partner, Contrast Law
Andrea Lofaro
Director, RBB Economics
Susan Hinchliffe
Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP

11.00 Coffee

11.20 The Growth of the Sector Regulation

• DG Enterprise proposals on private labels etc
• Buyer power
• Codes of conduct
• Unfair commercial practices code
• Best practice guidelines

Susan Hinchliffe (panel chair)
Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP
Jean Bergevin
Head of Unit, DG Markt
Alain Galaski
Director General, AIM (European Brands Association)
Paul Skehan
Director, European Retail Round Table (ERRT)

12.45 Lunch

13.45 Collaboration and Joint Initiatives between Suppliers and/or Retailers

• Joint purchasing
• Collaboration for environmental and social goals
• OFT short form opinions
• Category management including the French competition authority recommendations
• EU horizontal guidelines

Michael Hutchings
Competition Solicitor
Jackie Holland
Director Policy Unit
Office of Fair Trading
Etienne Pfister
Deputy General Rapporteur
Autorité de la Concurrence

15.00 Tea

15.20 Consumer Product Mergers

• Review of the implications of recent cases
• Are ‘references up’ to the European Commission the new reality?
• Buyer power and private label, how much difference do they make?
• Merger simulations: good or bad?
• Is remedies policy evolving in consumer products cases?

Alex Potter (panel chair)
Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Cristina Caffarra
Vice President, Charles River Associates
Michael Rowe
Partner, Slaughter and May
Claes Bengtsson
Deputy Chief Economist, DG Competition, European Commission

16.45 Summing up and close