Europe's High Court punctured consumers' hopes of buying cheap designer goods today after handing Levi Strauss the right to lock out imports of cut-price jeans from outside the European Union.
The US clothing giant won a landmark ruling from the European Court of Justice ensuring its right to limit imports of its denims from outside the EU.
The decision was a setback for British supermarket group Tesco, which wanted to import Levis jeans from the United States and sell them at cut prices.
The European court broke new ground in protecting the rights of trademark holders against retailers seeking to import their products from outside the EU and resell them without authorisation.
Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket chain, said it was shocked to have lost the case. It said it would go on with its campaign.
"It is very disappointing for customers," a Tesco spokesman said. "We had a tremendous opportunity here to buy from places like America and that has been denied to us for the time being".
"We are writing today to Patricia Hewitt [British Secretary of State for Trade and Industry] offering our continued support for a rapid change in the law and to the European Community urging them to review the law," the spokesman said.