1. Subject

1.1. These general conditions of sale apply to purchases of “Italia Independent” branded products (hereinafter the “Products”) made through the e-commerce website www.italiaindependent.com (hereinafter the “Website”) by users classified as “Consumers” pursuant to Article 1.2 below. The Website is owned by Italia Independent S.p.A., with registered office in Venaria Reale (TO), Via Emilia, 16, 10078, tax code, VAT number and registration number in the Register of Companies no. 09424180017 (hereinafter the “Seller”).

1.2. Purchases of Products made through the Website will have Italia Independent S.p.a. as seller (hereinafter the “Seller”), and the person who purchases one or more Products for purposes not related to their business, commercial, craft or professional activity, as buyer (hereinafter the “Consumer”), (Seller and Consumer will be collectively referred to hereinafter as the “Parties”).

1.3. Any communication by the Consumer connected and/or related to the purchase of Products – including any reports, complaints or requests concerning the purchase and/or delivery of the Products, the exercise of the right of withdrawal, etc. – must be sent to the Seller at the addresses and in the manner set out on the Website and to the email address [email protected].

1.4 Every purchase is governed by the general conditions of sale in the version that is published on the Website when the order is placed by the Consumer.

1.5. The Website is for retail sales and as such is intended for the exclusive use of Consumers. Persons who are not Consumers are asked not to make purchase orders. Should one or more sales be made to a party that is not classified as a Consumer, these general conditions of sale shall apply but, notwithstanding the provisions of said conditions:

a) the purchaser will not be granted the right of withdrawal referred to in Article 10;

b) the purchaser may not benefit from the guarantee on the Products set out in Article 8;

c) the purchaser will not be granted any other Consumer safeguards provided for herein, which reflect or comply with mandatory legal provisions;

d) the contract of sale concluded between the Seller and the purchaser will be governed by Italian law.

1.6. When making a purchase order, the Consumer accepts that the confirmation of the information relating to the order and these general conditions of sale will be sent via email to the address provided by the Consumer during registration on the Website or during the purchasing process.

1.7. In order to make purchases via the Website, the Consumer must be at least 18 years old and have legal capacity, which the Consumer declares to be the case.

1.8. Any costs for connection to the Website via the Internet, including telephone costs, are to be paid exclusively by the Consumer, in accordance with the rates applied by the operator selected by the Consumer.

2. Product characteristics and their availability in the various geographical areas

2.1. The Products are sold with the characteristics described on the Website and in accordance with the general conditions of sale published on the Website at the time the Consumer places the order, with the exclusion of any other condition or term.

2.2. The Seller reserves the right to amend these general conditions of sale at any time, at its discretion, without having to give any notice to the users of the Website. Any changes made shall be effective as from the date of publication on the Website and shall apply only to sales concluded as from that date.

2.3. The prices, Products for sale on the Website and/or their characteristics are subject to change without notice. Before making a purchase order in accordance with paragraph 3 below, the Consumer is invited to check the final sale price.

2.4 The Website can be accessed from all over the world. However, the Products available on the Website can only be purchased by users requesting delivery to one of the countries indicated on the Website.

3. How to purchase Products – Execution of purchase contracts

3.1. The display of the Products on the Website, which is not binding on the Seller, is simply an invitation to the Consumer to make a purchase contract offer and does not constitute an offer to the public.

3.2. The purchase order sent by the Consumer to the Seller through the Website has the value of a contract offer and is governed by these general conditions of sale, which are an integral part of the order and which the Consumer, by sending the order to the Seller, is obliged to accept fully and without reservation. Before proceeding with the purchase of the Products by sending the purchase order, the Consumer will be asked to read carefully these general conditions of sale and the information on the right of withdrawal and to save or reproduce a copy for his/her personal use.

3.3. The Consumer’s purchase order is accepted by the Seller by sending an email confirming the order to the Consumer, to the email address provided to the Seller at the time of registering on the Website or placing the order if the Consumer is not registered on the Website. The confirmation email will include the link to the text of these general conditions of sale, the summary of the order and the description of the characteristics of the ordered Product. The Consumer’s order, the confirmation of the order by the Seller and the general conditions of sale applicable to the relationship between the Parties will be electronically filed by the Seller in its computer systems and the Consumer may request a copy by sending an email to the Seller at the following address [email protected].

3.4. Each Product purchase contract is understood to be concluded when the Consumer receives the order confirmation by email from the Seller.

4. How to select and purchase Products

4.1. Products displayed on the Website can be purchased by selecting the Products of interest to the Consumer and adding them to the virtual shopping basket. In order to purchase the items that have been added to the shopping basket, the Consumer is requested (i) to register with the Website, providing the required data, or (ii) to log in, if the Consumer is already registered, or (iii) to provide his/her data in order to complete the order and allow the contract to be executed. If the data indicated in the order are different from those provided during registration on the Website, the Consumer will be asked to confirm his/her data (/including, but not limited to: name, surname, etc.), and the address for delivery of the selected Products, the billing address and, optionally, a telephone number where the Consumer can be contacted for any communications relating to the purchase. A summary of the order to be executed will then be displayed, and can be amended; then the Consumer, after carefully reading these general conditions of sale, has to expressly approve them by checking the relevant box and, lastly, the Consumer will be asked to confirm the order using the “Place order” button, and the order will be sent to the Seller and will have the effects described in paragraph 3.2 above. The Consumer will also be asked to choose the delivery and payment methods from those available. If the consumer chooses the immediate payment method (at the same time as the purchase) by credit card or PayPal, he/she will be required to provide the relevant data through a secure connection. For accounting and administrative purposes, the Seller reserves the right to verify the particulars provided by the Consumer. If payment is made by credit card, the purchase amount will only be charged when the order confirmation is sent by the Seller to the Consumer.

4.2. If, during the procedure to select the Products on the Website referred to in paragraph 4.1 above, the Consumer finds that the price of one or more of the Products he/she intends to select for purchase is clearly lower than the price normally applied, net of any discounts and/or promotions in force at that time, due to an obvious technical problem on the Website, he/she is asked not to complete the purchase order and to report the technical error to the Seller’s Customer Service, by sending an email to the email address [email protected].

4.3. In cases where the consumer has completed his/her purchase order and this includes a Product whose price is clearly lower than the normal price, net of any discounts and/or promotions in force at that time, due to an obvious technical problem on the Website:

(a) if the Consumer has not yet received the Product, the Seller will (i) cancel the order, which will not then be delivered, and send an email to this effect to the email address provided by the Consumer when placing the order and (ii) refund the Consumer for the payments made in relation to the cancelled order, including delivery costs, without undue delay and in any case no later than 14 days from the cancellation of the order, using the same payment method used by the Consumer for the initial transaction;

(b) if the Consumer has received the Product, the Seller will promptly notify the Consumer by email of the error that occurred during the order process, offering the Consumer either (i) to pay the Seller, within and no later than 5 (five) days, using one of the payment methods available on the Website, the amount corresponding to the difference between the correct price of the Product and the incorrect price resulting from the purchase order, or (ii) to cancel his/her order, following the instructions contained in the Seller’s notification email and return the Product to the Seller, at the Seller’s expense, within and no later than 14 (fourteen) days, sending it to Italia Independent S.p.a., with registered office in Venaria Reale (TO), Via Emilia, 16, 10078 Italy. The returned Product shall be undamaged, complete with all its parts and accessories (including the original labels and tags still attached to the Product) and with all instructions/notes/manuals enclosed, the original packaging and the warranty certificate, together with the returns form, duly filled in, which will be attached to the email sent by the Seller. In the event that the Consumer chooses the option referred to in paragraph (b)(ii) above, the Seller will refund the Consumer for payments made in relation to the cancelled order, inclusive of delivery costs, without undue delay and, in any case, within and no later than 14 days from the cancellation of the order, using the same payment method used by the Consumer for the initial transaction.

5. Delivery of the goods and acceptance

5.1. The Website shows Product availability and delivery times; nevertheless, this information is to be considered purely as a guideline and is not binding on the Seller.

5.2 The Seller undertakes to do everything in its power to comply with the delivery times indicated on the Website and, in any case, to carry out the delivery within a maximum time of 30 (thirty) days from the day following the day on which the Consumer places the order. If the order is not executed by the Seller, due to the unavailability, even temporary, of the Product, the Seller shall inform the Consumer in writing and shall refund any amounts that may already have been paid by the Consumer for the Product in accordance with paragraph 5.3 below.

5.3. Shipment of the Products ordered by the Consumer will be made in accordance with the procedure selected by the Consumer from those available and indicated on the Website at the time the order is placed. The Consumer undertakes to check as soon as possible that the delivery includes all and only the products purchased and to inform the Seller promptly of any defect in the Products received or any discrepancy with the order, in accordance with the procedure set out in Art. 8 below of these general conditions of sale; otherwise, the Products will be considered as accepted. If the package or wrapping of the products ordered by the Consumer should arrive at their destination clearly damaged, the Consumer should refuse delivery by the carrier/shipper or accept delivery “with reservation”.

6. Prices, shipping costs, taxes and fees

6.1. The price of the Products is the one indicated on the Website at the time the Consumer places the order. Prices are inclusive of standard packaging costs, VAT (where applicable) and any indirect taxes (where applicable), but do not include shipping costs, which are calculated before the order confirmation is sent by the Seller to the Consumer and which the Consumer agrees to pay to the Seller in addition to the price indicated on the Website.

6.2. The Consumer must pay the full price to the Seller, as indicated in the order and in the order confirmation sent by email by the Seller to the Consumer.

6.3. If the Products are to be delivered in a country outside the European Union, the total price indicated in the order and confirmed in the order confirmation, inclusive of indirect taxes (where applicable) is net of any customs duties and any other sales tax, which, if due, the Consumer undertakes to pay immediately in addition to the price indicated in the order and confirmed in the order confirmation, in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which the products will be delivered. Consumers are asked to find out from the competent bodies of their country of residence or destination of the products about any duties or taxes that may apply in their country of residence or destination of the products.

6.4. The Consumer is solely responsible for any additional cost, charge, tax and/or duty that a given country may apply, for any reason whatsoever, to the Products ordered according to these general conditions of sale.

6.5. The Consumer hereby states that any lack of knowledge of the costs, charges, taxes and/or duties referred to in paragraphs 6.3. and 6.4. above at the time of placing an order with the Seller, shall not constitute grounds for termination of this contract and that he/she may in no way bill the aforesaid charges to the Seller.

7. Payments

7.1. The Consumer expressly accepts that the execution of the contract by the Seller will start at the time when the price of the purchased Product or Products is credited to the Seller’s current account.

7.2. Payment can be made by credit card or by PayPal, under the conditions described below.

7.3. If payment is made by credit card, the Consumer will be transferred to a secure website and the credit card details will be sent directly to Global Collect Service BV, with registered office in Amsterdam (Holland), Planetenweg 43-49, 2132 HF, Hoofddrop, registered with the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce under number 34140462, which is the operator responsible for payments on behalf of the Seller. The data will be sent in protected mode, through the encrypted transfer of data with a 128-bit SSL (SecureSocketLayer) system. Such data cannot even be accessed by the Seller.

7.4. If required by applicable law, the Seller will promptly send the purchase receipt to the Consumer, in electronic format via email to the address provided by the Consumer if the purchased Products are intended for delivery in Italy, or attached in paper format to the purchased Products in all other cases.

8. Seller’s legal guarantee of conformity, reporting of lack of conformity and warranty work

8.1. Pursuant to and for the purposes of European Directive 44/99/EC and Italian Legislative Decree no. 206/2005 (the Consumer Code), the Seller guarantees to the Consumer that the Products are free from design and material defects and that they comply with the descriptions published on the Website, for a period of 2 (two) years from the date of delivery of the Products to the Consumer. No warranty shall apply if the Product is used or washed in ways that are not suitable for the Product or that do not comply with the instructions/warnings provided by the Seller, or indicated in the descriptive documents or on the tags or labels.

8.2. Under penalty of invalidation of this warranty, the Consumer has the responsibility to report any defects and lack of conformity within and no later than 2 (two) months from finding them, by sending the appropriate form correctly filled in to the Seller’s Customer Service, by email to the address [email protected], indicating the defect and/or non-conformity found, and the related documentation as indicated in the returns form (at least 1 (one) photo of the Product, the order confirmation sent by the Seller and/or the fiscal receipt).

8.3. Following receipt of the form and the related documents, the Seller will assess the defects or lack of conformity reported by the Consumer through the Customer Service and, after carrying out quality checks to verify the product’s effective non-conformity, will decide whether to authorise the return of the Products by sending the Consumer a reply containing the “Return Code” via email to the address provided by the Consumer at the time of registering on the Website or placing the order. The authorisation to return the Products shall in no way constitute recognition of defects or non-conformities, the existence of which must be ascertained subsequent to the return of the items. The Consumer must return the Products for which the Seller authorises the return, together with a copy of the return authorisation notification bearing the “Return Code”, within 30 (thirty) days from the notification of the defect or lack of conformity, to the following address: Italia Independent S.p.A., Venaria Reale (TO), Via Emilia, 16 10078- Italy.

8.4. If the Seller is required to refund the price paid to the Consumer, the refund will be made, where possible, by the same payment method used by the Consumer at the time of purchasing the Product or by bank transfer. It will be the Consumer’s responsibility to provide the Seller, by email to [email protected], with the bank details for the transfer and to ensure that the Seller is able to refund the amount due.

9. Liability for damage caused by defective products

9.1. As regards any damage caused by defects in the Products, the provisions of European Directive 85/374/EEC and Italian Legislative Decree no. 206/2005 (Consumer Code) shall apply. As a distributor of products through the Website, the Seller shall be held harmless from and against all liability, with no exception and/or exclusion, indicating the name of the relevant manufacturer of the product.

10. Right of withdrawal

10.1 The Consumer has the right to withdraw from any contract concluded in accordance with these general conditions of sale, without any penalty, within 14 (fourteen) days from (i) when the product was delivered or (ii) when the last product was delivered in the event of the purchase of several products delivered separately with a single order.

10.2 To exercise the right of withdrawal, the Consumer must inform the Seller, before the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 10.1 above, of his/her decision to withdraw from the contract by means of the attached standard withdrawal form by going to the relevant page and sending an explicit declaration to the Seller through the ‘contact us’ form or to the email address [email protected].

10.3 Further to the provisions of paragraph 10.2 above, the Consumer will receive an email confirming the exercise of withdrawal, containing the return code to insert in the package, and instructions for returning the product, to be sent within and no later than 14 days to:

Italy Independent S.p.A.,

Venaria Reale (TO), Via Emilia, 16 10078 – Italy.

10.4 If the Consumer has received the product, he/she is obliged to return it to the Seller without undue delay and, in any case, within 14 days from the day of notification of withdrawal. This deadline is considered as being met if the goods are returned before the end of the 14-day period. The risks and direct costs of returning the goods will be borne by the Consumer.

10.5 If the Consumer exercises the right of withdrawal from the contract, he/she will be refunded for the products he/she has purchased, without undue delay and, in any case, no later than 14 days from the exercise of his/her right of withdrawal. These refunds will be made using the same payment method used for the initial transaction, unless you the Consumer requests reimbursement by a different payment method; in this case he/she will be responsible for any additional costs arising from the different payment method. The refund may be suspended until the goods have been received or until the Consumer demonstrates that the goods have been sent back, whichever comes first.

11. Intellectual property rights

11.1. The Consumer declares that he/she has been informed that all trademarks and names, as well as any distinctive sign, name, image, photograph, written text or graphic used on the Website or related to the Products are and shall remain the exclusive property of Italia Independent S.p.A. and/or of its assigns, and access to the Website and/or the purchase of Products shall not confer any right thereto on the Consumer.

11.2. The contents of the Website may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, transferred by electronic or conventional means, amended or used for any purpose without the prior written consent of Italia Independent S.p.A.

12. Consumer data and protection of privacy

12.1. In order to proceed with registration, to execute an order and thus conclude this contract, the Consumer is required to provide some personal data through the Website. The Consumer acknowledges that the personal data provided will be stored and used by the Seller, in accordance and in compliance with the provisions of Italian Legislative Decree no. 196/2003, as amended (the Privacy Code), to execute each purchase made through the Website and, subject to his/her consent, for any additional activities as set out in the privacy policy provided to the Consumer through the Website at the time of registration.

12.2. The Consumer declares and guarantees that the data provided to the Seller during the registration and purchase process are correct and true.

12.3. The Consumer may at any time update and/or amend the personal data provided to the Seller through the appropriate “My Account” section of the Website, which can be accessed after authentication.

12.4. For any further information on the processing of Consumers’ personal data, please see the Privacy Policy section and read the General Conditions of Use carefully.

13. Security

13.1. Although the Seller takes measures to protect personal data against any loss, falsification, improper handling and misuse by third parties, the Seller cannot guarantee that the information or data displayed by the Consumer on the Website, even after the Consumer has provided authentication (login), cannot be accessed or viewed by unauthorised third parties, due to the characteristics and technical limitations relating to the protection of electronic communications via the Internet.

13.2. For data relating to credit card payments, the Seller uses the services of Global Collect Service BV, which makes use of technological systems to guarantee the highest levels of reliability, security, protection and confidentiality in the transmission of information via the web.

14. Applicable law, conciliation attempts and competent court

14.1. The General Conditions of Sale Each sales contract concluded between the Seller and Consumers pursuant to these general conditions of sale shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with Italian laws and in particular by Legislative Decree no. 206 of 6 September 2005, on the consumer code, with specific reference to legislation on distance contracts, and Legislative Decree no. 70 of 9 April 2003 on certain aspects concerning e-commerce. In any case, any rights that may be granted to Consumers by mandatory legal provisions in force in the Consumer’s country will be maintained.

14.2. In the event of disputes between the Seller and a Consumer, we guarantee as of now that we will take part in any attempt at friendly conciliation that Consumers may submit to RisolviOnline, an independent and institutional service provided by the Arbitration Court of the Milan Chamber of Commerce, to allow a satisfactory agreement to be reached, with the help of a neutral and competent conciliator, in a friendly and safe way over the internet. For more information on RisolviOnline regulations or to submit a request for conciliation, please visit www.risolvionline.com.

14.3. As an alternative to the conciliation attempt referred to in paragraph 14.2 above, the Consumer also has the right to access the European Online Dispute Resolution platform (the European ODR Platform) for the resolution of any dispute between Seller and Consumer. The European ODR Platform is developed and managed by the European Commission, in compliance with Directive 2013/1/EU and EU Regulation no. 524/2013, in order to facilitate the independent, impartial, transparent, effective, rapid and fair out-of-court settlement of disputes concerning contractual obligations deriving from contracts of sale or online services between a consumer resident in the EU and a professional established in the EU through the intervention of an ADR (alternative dispute resolution) body belonging to the platform, which can be selected from a specific list available on the platform. For more information on the European ODR Platform or to start an alternative resolution procedure for a dispute related to this contract through the platform, go to the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/odr. The Seller’s email address to be indicated on the European ODR Platform is as follows: [email protected].

14.4. If you do not agree to the conciliation attempt referred to in paragraphs 14.2 or 14.3 above or if that attempt should have a negative outcome, the dispute shall be referred to the court of the Consumer’s place of residence or domicile.