Legal
March 23, 2017 at 12:25 pm
Discount shoe store Payless is struggling. USA Today reports the retailer has been rumored to be seeking bankruptcy court protection and may close as many as 500 stores. Payless plans to shut down the stores as part of its reorganization strategy. While 500 stores closing is a lot, it's less than the original estimate of 1,000 stores.…
March 21, 2017 at 11:55 am
San Francisco fashion boutique Modern Appealing Clothing has sued Ivanka Trump's company over unfair competition. The class action lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court last Thursday. The lawsuit claims Ivanka Trump Marks, LLC, has gained an unfair advantage in the marketplace "from Donald J. Trump being the President of the United States and from Ivanka…
March 20, 2017 at 11:33 am
Wal-Mart was granted a patent this week for a system in which drones would shuttle products between different departments inside its stores. This scenario would free customers from having to walk across its stores to find what they want and from having to wait while employees return from far-away storerooms. Ultimately, Wal-Mart believes that drones “can…
March 17, 2017 at 10:29 am
Coachella Music Festival is suing Urban Outfitters in federal court, alleging the retailer has been selling items using the Coachella name without permission. Coachella, a weeklong music festival in Indio, Calif. that attracts hundreds of thousands of people, claims that Urban’s Free People brand is "trading on the goodwill and fame" of the Coachella brand. Free…
March 17, 2017 at 10:23 am
The National Retail Federation (NRF) welcomed the House Budget Committee’s 19-17 approval of Obamacare repeal-and-replace legislation, which sets the stage for a vote by the full House as soon as next week. It would effectively repeal the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate by reducing the penalty for noncompliance to zero; repeals the so-called Cadillac tax on…
March 16, 2017 at 11:01 pm
The National Retail Federation (NRF) welcomed the House Budget Committee’s 19-17 approval of Obamacare repeal-and-replace legislation, which sets the stage for a vote by the full House as soon as next week. It would effectively repeal the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate by reducing the penalty for noncompliance to zero; repeals the so-called Cadillac tax on […]
March 16, 2017 at 11:51 am
Russia's antitrust watchdog, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), found Apple guilty on Tuesday of iPhone price fixing in the country. The FAS said that Apple's Russian subsidiary forced 16 retailers to fix their pricing on iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 models, according to the Financial Times, which earlier reported on the ruling. The report even stated…
March 9, 2017 at 9:26 am
HHGregg, along with its Gregg Appliances Inc. unit, announced this week that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The electronics and appliance retailer made this announcement just a few days after shuttering 88 stores in 15 states. HHGregg has signed a term sheet with an anonymous party to buy the retailer's assets. The selling of…
March 8, 2017 at 10:10 am
Columbia Sportswear has sued a former IT employee whom it accuses of hacking into its email system for more than two years in an attempt to land more work for his new boss. Michael Leeper accessed the emails of Columbia's senior executives and IT department in hopes of gleaning information that would help him win technology…
March 7, 2017 at 11:11 am
Gordmans Stores Inc., a Midwestern department store chain founded more than a century ago, is preparing to file for bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter. The filing could come as soon as this month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process isn’t public. Shares of the Omaha, Nebraska-based…
