Legal

California’s Proposition 24, which expands the state’s consumer privacy law, was passed by voters on Nov. 3, 2020. Starting January 2023, the new law, called the California Consumer Privacy Rights Act (“CCPRA”) will take effect and allow consumers more control over how businesses collect and use their personal information. Today, advancements in technology allow retailers…

COVID-19 has all companies scrambling to make sense of what the future will look like for their businesses. For retailers, brick-and-mortar real estate is perhaps the most integral part, leaving many to question the best path forward should the country face an even more prolonged lockdown. Do you shutter certain stores? What's the right balance between…

Women’s boutique chain francesca's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, with plans to sell the business, including its brick-and-mortar stores. In a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing, francesa's said it was obtaining $25 million in financing from its existing lender, Tiger Finance, to facilitate the retail stores sales process, subject to court approval.…

This week, European Union regulators brought antitrust charges against Amazon.com, The New York Times reported. The EU claims that the e-commerce giant broke competition laws by wrongfully using its size and access to data against smaller sellers that rely on the company to reach consumers. Specifically, Amazon is accused of collecting nonpublic data from sellers…

On Monday, a New York federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Amazon.com that accused the company of failing to stop the spread of the coronavirus through unsafe working conditions, CNBC reported. The judge deferred to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The complaint against the e-commerce giant was filed by four employees at Amazon's Staten Island,…

Many retailers were forced to close their doors to customers beginning in March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic first hit the United States. This caused the stock market to plunge initially, and pushed the overall economy into a record slump. Unsure of how to proceed given the unprecedented situation where municipalities were ordering stores to…

J.C. Penney reached an agreement yesterday to sell its retail business to mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, averting a total liquidation. Simon and Brookfield will pay about $300 million in cash and assume $500 million in debt to buy J.C. Penney, lawyers for the retailer said at a Bankruptcy Court hearing. The deal…

Luxury goods giant LVMH is scrapping its $16.2 billion acquisition of Tiffany & Co., CNBC reported. The acquisition would have been the biggest deal ever in the luxury industry. The merger agreement was signed last November and had a closing deadline of no later than Nov. 20, 2020. However, Tiffany requested an extension until Dec. 31,…

The e-commerce business and intellectual property of omnichannel specialty retailer RTW Retailwinds were sold at bankruptcy auction last week to investment firm Saadia Group for $40 million plus assumption of certain liabilities, including honoring gift cards. Assets include websites run by the apparel company, which was previously known as New York & Co. Those sites include www.nyandcompany.com,…

A partnership of the biggest U.S. mall owner, Simon Property Group, and apparel licensing firm Authentic Brands Group (ABG) has been tapped by a bankruptcy court as the winning bidder to acquire denim maker Lucky Brand for $140.1 million, reports CNBC. The two — in a venture known as Sparc — announced last week that they're set to assume the…