PARTICULAR FOR NEW BRANDS OR THOSE WITH A SMALL TURNOVER .
184 NEVERTHELESS THE NUMBER OF INTERMEDIARIES AND BRANDS IS NOT NECESSARILY AN ESSENTIAL CRITERION FOR IMPROVING DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 85 ( 3 ). THE QUALITY OF A DISTRIBUTION SECTOR MAY BE JUDGED ABOVE ALL BY ITS COMMERCIAL FLEXIBILITY AND CAPACITY TO REACT TO STIMULI BOTH FROM MANUFACTURERS AND CONSUMERS . AS REGARDS THE LATTER THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DISTRIBUTION IMPLIES THAT IT CAN CONCENTRATE ITS ACTIVITIES ON PRODUCTS WHICH HAVE THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE IN THE EYES OF CONSUMERS AND IS TO BE JUDGED ALSO ACCORDING TO ITS ADAPTABILITY TO NEW PURCHASING HABITS WHICH MAY BECOME APPARENT . IT IS CLEAR FROM THE FIGURES SUPPLIED BY THE COMMISSION , THE ACCURACY OF WHICH HAS NOT BEEN CHALLENGED BY THE OTHER PARTIES TO THE PRESENT CASES , THAT THE CIGARETTE SALES MADE BY SUPERMARKETS HAVE INCREASED MUCH MORE THAN THOSE MADE BY OTHER RETAILERS AND THAT IS SO IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT SUPERMARKETS OFFER ONLY A RESTRICTED NUMBER OF THE COMPLETE RANGE OF BRANDS OF CIGARETTES SOLD ON THE BELGIAN MARKET .
185 IT FOLLOWS FROM THOSE CONSIDERATIONS THAT IT MAY BE SERIOUSLY DOUBTED WHETHER THE BENEFITS IN RELATION TO DISTRIBUTION ARISING FROM THE RECOMMENDATION ARE LIKELY SUFFICIENTLY TO COMPENSATE FOR THE STRINGENT RESTRICTIONS WHICH IT IMPOSES ON COMPETITION IN RESPECT OF SALES TERMS ALLOWED THE TRADE TO JUSTIFY THE CONCLUSION THAT IT CONTRIBUTES TO IMPROVING THE DISTRIBUTION OF CIGARETTES WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 85 ( 3 ).
186 IT IS HOWEVER UNNECESSARY TO GIVE A FINAL ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION SINCE IT MUST BE RECORDED THAT ANOTHER CONDITION FOR APPLYING ARTICLE 85 ( 3 ) IS NOT FULFILLED IN THIS CASE .
187 FOR THE PROVISIONS OF THE RECOMMENDATION TO ENJOY EXEMPTION THEY MUST NOT AFFORD THE MEMBERS OF FEDETAB THE POSSIBILITY OF ELIMINATING COMPETITION IN RESPECT OF A SUBSTANTIAL PART OF THE PRODUCTS IN QUESTION .
188 IN THAT RESPECT IT MUST BE REMEMBERED , AS THE COMMISSION POINTED OUT IN PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE CONTESTED DECISION , THAT FEDETAB MEMBER FIRMS PRODUCE OR IMPORT ROUGHLY 95% OF THE CIGARETTES SOLD IN BELGIUM AND THAT TEN FEDETAB MEMBERS , WHO ALSO IMPORT FOREIGN BRANDED PRODUCTS , IMPORTED IN 1974 51% OF THE CIGARETTES IMPORTED INTO BELGIUM , OR ABOUT 5% OF THE CIGARETTES SOLD THERE . MOREOVER THE SEVEN APPLICANT COMPANIES ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR A VERY HIGH PERCENTAGE ( GIVEN AS 80% IN PARAGRAPH 61 OF THE DECISION AND 92% IN THE COMMISSION ' S REJOINDER ) OF THE TOTAL CIGARETTE SALES IN BELGIUM . IT IS ALSO TO BE OBSERVED THAT ACCORDING TO FIGURES ALSO GIVEN BY THE COMMISSION IN ITS REJOINDER AND NOT CHALLENGED ALMOST TWO-THIRDS OF CIGARETTE SALES IN BELGIUM ARE REPRESENTED BY SOME TEN BRANDS ONLY , LARGELY MARKETED BY ONE OR MORE OF THE APPLICANT COMPANIES .
189 AS HAS ALREADY BEEN STATED , THE PROVISIONS OF THE RECOMMENDATION TO WHICH THE APPLICANT COMPANIES AGREED HAVE AS THEIR