Consumer electronics retailers can now ask headquarters to lower their supply prices as much as online.
On the 30th, the Fair Trade Commission established and announced a standard home appliance agency contract with these details. It was based on the results of the survey conducted last August. In this survey, 34% of dealership owners responded that they are supplying home appliances at higher prices than the price they sell directly online. In this case, the FTC has made it clear in the contract so that the agency can directly request the supplier to adjust the price.
Last April, a home appliance store in Seoul. yunhap news
In addition, when a supplier wants to change the interior of a home appliance store, they must provide detailed information such as a construction estimate in advance. If the cost is too high, the agency may change the interior contractor.
The FTC also created a standard agency contract for the oil distribution and medical device industry. In the medical device industry, if the head office sells products at a lower price than the agent’s supply price through a direct store, the agent can request a price adjustment from the head office. Also, the head office cannot request a rebate from the agency. If the agency is damaged due to forced rebates, the head office shall be liable for damages.
According to the standard agency contract for the petroleum distribution industry, forcing exclusive transactions is prohibited. It is forbidden to force agents to handle only own-brand oil or to penalize other brands of oil.
There are also contents that are commonly included in the standard agency contract for home appliances, oil distribution and medical devices. If the agency fails to pay the payment on time due to a crisis or disaster such as a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), delay interest (legal interest rate of 6% per year) must be reduced or exempted. The FTC established standard agency contracts for a total of 12 industries, including the home appliance, oil distribution, and medical device industries.
It is not mandatory to use this contract. When evaluating the implementation of the agency’s fair trade agreement, the number of points allocated for using the standard contract is large (20 points out of 100). Depending on the evaluation result, benefits such as exemption from ex officio investigation and awarding of commendations are also provided. An official from the Fair Trade Commission said, “We plan to inform the purpose and contents of the standard contract in detail through briefing sessions for suppliers and agency organizations, and actively encourage their use.”
Sejong = Reporter Cho Hyun-sook [email protected]