Legal

There’s no understating the impact that small computer in your pocket has made on retail. But governmental bodies are starting to reckon with it. Starting January 2020, California will enact the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). CCPA follows in the footsteps of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and precedes the Brazilian Data…

A day after reports were published that  Under Armour is at the center of a federal investigation, executives at the company are maintaining that its accounting practices are above board, according to a report from Business Insider. On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the retailer's accounting practices have been under federal investigation by the…

The American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) recently conducted a follow-up poll to see how e-commerce, catalog, direct and other remote merchants have fared since the Supreme Court’s June 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., which overturned the old Quill v. North Dakota remote sales tax collection physical presence standard. The first poll was…

Destination  Maternity, owner of brands such as A Pea in the Pod and Motherhood, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company plans to shutter 183 stores. The move comes after the Moorestown, N.J., retailer has struggled for years to regain its footing…

Zappos customers who had their data stolen in a 2012 data breach will receive only a meager 10 percent discount to use on the online footwear and apparel retailer's website, as part of a proposed class-action lawsuit settlement. Their lawyers, on the other hand, are set to receive $1,620,000 in attorneys’ fees and other legal…

A team of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigators has begun interviewing small businesses that sell products on Amazon.com to determine whether the e-commerce giant is using its market power to hurt competition. Several attorneys and at least one economist have been conducting interviews, according to three merchants. All were asked what percentage of revenue their businesses derive from Amazon vs.…

Walmart is suing Tesla, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle and clean energy company, after its solar panels atop seven Walmart stores allegedly caught on fire, CNBC reported. The lawsuit, which details evacuations, damaged property and inventory, claims breach of contract, gross negligence and failure to live up to industry standards. Walmart is asking Tesla to remove its solar panels from…

In June 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 27 years of legal precedent holding that no state could require an out-of-state retailer to collect sales or use taxes from purchasers absent the retailer having a physical presence in that state. In South Dakota v. Wayfair, the Court upheld a South Dakota statute that required remote…

Barneys New York may join the list of retail stores filing for bankruptcy, according to CBS News. The luxury department store is considering its options, including bankruptcy, due to high rents and a changing consumer landscape. Most of Barneys' stores are in prestigious neighborhoods in cities like Boston, New York and Los Angeles, and rent prices at…

In a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission on June 30, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) voiced its support for the FTC's antitrust probes of Amazon.com and other large technology companies, reports Footwear News. RILA's member organizations include big-box retailers (and perhaps not coincidentally, Amazon competitors) Walmart, Target, Gap, Best Buy, and many other…