Rechtbank Midden-Nederland, 13-04-2016, ECLI:NL:RBMNE:2016:1793, C/16/390693 / HA ZA 15-363

Op 28 februari 2012 schrijft Doosan aan Ro-Ad onder meer:

“(…) At this time, the largest road block seems to be that you are not at all aligned on the correct business model. Ro-Ad prefers the business model of going through sub dealers, sub dealers which have, in fact, never been approved by Doosan. Moreover, Doosan believes that it is losing customer contact and margins in the distribution chain, and subsequently this does not allow our product to be competitive.(…)

Ro-Ad is not engaged in adding value to our machines and is not active in Material handling, recycling, Demolition or special applications. (…)

Ro-Ad is not actively engaged in dealer rental (…)

Ro-Ad is another company that you manage. However, it is unfortunate that you also deal with Compair who is a direct competitor for Doosan Portable Power (…)

Training attendance (sales, service, dealer university) has been extremely weak throughout the years. (…)

As of today, you have refused, for two consecutive years, to sign a realistic marketing plan(…)

All products considered, Doosan has lost 1.3 points of market share in 2011.

Ro-Ad is not at all active with regard to ADT, WLD or MEX.

(…)

Based on the above, we officially summon you to take the appropriate actions in order to significantly improve the situation in the course of 2012. We will review all these issues in the course of the year and at the end of the year and, should there be no improvement, we will have no other choice but reconsidering our business relationship.”

Naar aanleiding van een op 28 augustus 2012 gehouden bespreking bericht Doosan Ro-Ad bij brief van 30 augustus 2012 onder meer als volgt:

“During the Meeting, it was clearly stipulated that, from both sides there is a distinct unhappiness about the current state of the business, performance and relationship. We also agreed that without a strategic alignment and a solid 3 to 5 year business plan clearly setting out the course of action for the years to come, we would have no future together. On the need for a clear business plan, we brought this subject to your attention on previous occasions, including a request from myself in the summer of 2011 and in a letter dated 29th February, 2012.

Although no action was taken on these requests, I would like to state that I am pleased with the fact that, on this occasion, you have confirmed your intention to commit to, and work on, such a business plan.

(…)

At this juncture, it is important to state that should the above steps and conditions not be met, we may have to consider an alternative solution for the distribution of Doosan products in the Netherlands.”

Bij emailbericht van 18 september 2012 laat Ro-Ad Doosan onder meer weten:

“Al direct werd duidelijk dat feitelijk een punt leidend is: Doosan wil af van onze sub-dealers. In plaats daarvan wil Doosan dat Ro-Ad binnen vijf jaar zelf 4-5 (service) vestigingen heeft. Deze stelling, deze eis, is volkomen nieuw voor ons.(…)

In 2011 konden wij niet akkoord gaan met een door Doosan voorgelegd, zeer onrealistisch marketingplan voor 2012. Graag hadden wij dat ook vooraf besproken. Bovendien waren de problemen, met slecht werkende machines, op dat moment zo groot, dat wij door tal van inspanningen (…) heel andere prioriteiten hadden. (…)

Beste [voornaam] , als dit het verhaal is en blijft, dan kunnen wij met de beste wil ter wereld geen meerjarenplan maken. (…) In het verleden hebben wij in het noorden van Nederland een filiaal gehad. Het is ons buitengewoon slecht bevallen. Werken met en via sub-dealers heeft ons en dus ook Doosan meer gebracht.(…)

Het komt hierop neer: wij zijn bereid een realistisch meerjaren- en marketingplan op te stellen. Blijft Doosan echter bij haar standpunt als aangegeven, dan vernemen wij graag snel en duidelijk hoe zij in Nederland, ook na 25 jaar, verder wil gaan.”

In haar emailbericht van 9 oktober 2012 schrijft Ro-Ad onder meer:

“Het businessmodel van Doosan kan ook werken met goede servicepartners is onze mening. Eigen vestigingen moeten immers ook winst genereren. (…) Het is wel duidelijk dat Doosan achter onze rug om bezig is (‘Plan B’). (…) Drie maal hebben we gevraagd of Doosan voor Nederland wel verder wil met Ro-Ad. Driemaal was het antwoord ‘dat ligt aan Ro-Ad zelf’. [voornaam] , daar kunnen we niets mee. Zeker niet als er geen verandering= verbetering komt in de hele situatie. Levering van onderdelen is dramatisch en… verleden week hebben we weer een machine moeten terugkopen. Daar zouden we het over moeten hebben.”

Bij email van 15 oktober 2012 schrijft Doosan Ro-Ad:

“It is clear that the relationship between Doosan and Ro-Ad continues to detoriate with the differing views on the most appropriate business model required in order to move forward in the most successful manner. Contrary to what is stipulated in your email, at this time there is no ‘plan B’ with regard to the territory of the Netherlands, however an internal meeting will take place in the near future in order to discuss Doosan’s relationship with Ro-Ad. Should any decisions be taken therein, I will be sure to inform you.

Within your email, you suggested that Ro-Ad has asked Doosan, on three separate occasions, whether Doosan wishes to continue with the relationship and that Doosan dismisses the question by suggesting that this is dependent on Ro-Ad. In truth, we have, on many occasions, conversed with you the aim of taking positive steps in order to move forward in an efficient and mutually beneficial way. However, the fact that you have refused to sign a marketing plan and that your market share in the Netherlands continues to decrease suggests that it is, in fact, Ro-Ad who is no longer dedicated to making the relationship prosper.”

Bij brief van 8 november 2012 bericht Doosan Ro-Ad als volgt:

“Following numerous meetings and discussion over the past few years with the aim of building and maintaining the mutual respect and trust required in order to further our relationship in the most successful manner, I believe that we have reached a point at which the current relationship is no longer sustainable. Therefore, this letter serves to notify you that Doosan Infrastructure Europe, SA (the “ Company”) has decided to cease the business relationship with Ro-Ad BV with respect to certain provinces in the Netherlands. The notice period and the provinces in question are as follows:

 For the provinces of Limburg, North Brabant, Zeeland and South Holland you are hereby provided with a termination notice period of six (6) months. Therefore, as of the 9th of May, 2013 you will no longer be an authorised distributor of Doosan products within these provinces.

 For the provinces Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe and North Holland you are hereby provided with a termination notice period of eighteen (18) months. Therefore, as of the 9th of May, 2014 you will no longer be an authorised distributor of Doosan products within these provinces.

Following expiration of the above stipulated notice periods, you must thereafter refrain from representing yourself as a distributor of the Company in the respective provinces. You will also have to immediately discontinue the use of any trademarks of the Company and its affiliates within the respective provinces, including the immediate removal from your sales rooms and service facilities, including buildings and vehicles, and from signs, letterheads, business cards, telephone directory advertising, domain names, websites, electronic media or other advertising and promotional materials, all references to the trademarks. Furthermore you shall not thereafter use any deceptively similar name or trademark which might imply that the relationship between Ro-Ad BV and the Company still exists.

Moreover, all warranty issues will become the sole responsibility of the newly appointed dealer in the respective province. Such issues include, but are not limited to, the handling of warranty repairs and the placing of claims to the Company.

Notwithstanding the above, any and all moneys you owe to the Company remain due and payable and we hereby demand immediate payment of those amounts.

With regard to the remaining provinces of Utrecht, Flevoland, Overijssel, Gelderland; the current business relationship will remain unchanged and thus you will remain as an authorized distributor of Doosan products.

We wish you all the best in your future endeavours and we are prepared to work with you to make the transition as smooth as possible.”

Bij brief van 11 maart 2013 schrijft Doosan Road hierover:

“Finally, I would like to clarify the situation with regard to the ‘grey market’ machines found in the Netherlands. It is my understanding that Road has located some Doosan machines on its territory, sold by entities located outside of the Netherlands, and has requested that Doosan, via the submission of invoices, pay Road a percentage of the value of those machines. I would like to point out that out of territory active sales are not tolerated by Doosan. When such machines are found and reported to Doosan, an investigation is launched and every effort is made to ensure that such sales are prevented in the future. However, due to the fact that Doosan had no involvement in the sale of the ‘grey market’ machines into the Netherlands, Doosan will not pay any form of financial compensation to Road.”

Nadat Ro-Ad zich daarover bij Doosan had beklaagd, bericht Doosan Ro-Ad bij email van 30 oktober 2012 als volgt:

“ADTs have never been included in the scope of Ro-Ad’s distributorship, neither in your expired distributor agreement dated 28/10/1986 nor within the business relationship that proceeded it.

Ro-Ad was granted exclusivity for sales into the Netherlands of a certain range of heavy products. ADT’s were not included within this range. Moreover, ADT’s were not included within the business relationship that followed expiration of the distributor agreement, evidenced by the fact that Ro-Ad has not purchased a single ADT from Doosan and therefore has never placed an ADT on the Dutch market.

Without making any purchases and subsequent sales of a product, one cannot claim to be a distributor of that product and therefore Ro-Ad is not entitled to any ‘compensation’, or any other form of financial recourse, for this sale or any future sales of ADT’s made by Doosan in the Netherlands.”