Retailers are concerned that they will be responsible for advertising claims made by suppliers, and may seek to improve returns clauses in their contracts with suppliers. Laws governing sales between suppliers and retailers are unaffected by the Directive. Fees are split between retailers and customers, with the latter receiving a refund in the event they are proved correct. Sponsorship of the Code is under discussion with the Independent Footwear Retailers Association, who may choose to sponsor it themselves. The poor effect on customer loyalty of disputed returns is recognised in a new initiative from Denmark.
Any dispute then takes place off-line between retailer and supplier.
E-commerce with component suppliers With support from the EU funded Footprint project, a pilot website for order tracking between footwear manufacturers and component and leather suppliers has been created to encourage firms to think about the benefits and implications of electronic commerce further up the supply chain. The website and accompanying database structure has been developed by ABS Software Ltd, and follows a meeting in the summer with representatives of manufacturers and suppliers. Details of the site will soon be sent to members for evaluation. BFA hopes that a positive response from members will lead to an application for more funding to help expand the site from order tracking into other areas such as ordering and inventory planning. DTI can fund your overseas placement DTI has funds available for employees from any discipline in companies employing less than 2,000 employees to spend between 3 and 12 months in a placement with an overseas company.