Brandt Law PLLC

Retail has always been about adaptation and evolution. We generally think of it in terms of the aesthetics of fashion. However, this also applies to the business of retail. A year ago, Tapestry and Capri Holdings were looking to merge. Now, due to the FTC block of that transaction, both Tapestry and Capri Holdings have now seemingly turned into sellers. Tapestry is considering a sale of the Stuart Weitzman brand to Caleres while Prada is looking to buy the Versace brand from Capri Holdings. #theretaillawyer #tapestry #capriholdings #ftc #retailevolution #attorneyadvertisement https://lnkd.in/eYpfNgTY

We spent much of last year discussing mergers that didn't go through such as Tapestry's acquisition of Michael Kors (Capri Holdings), the Kroger/Albertsons Deal, and Mattress Firm's acquisition of Tempur Sealy. In with the new year is a new merger: Sparc Acquisitions (driven mainly by Simon Property Group's brand acquisitions over the past several years) and JC Penny have joined forces to form Catalyst Brands which will hit it operational ground running with 1,800 doors, 60,000 employees and $1Billion in liquidity. Let's see what changes this catalyst triggers for the retail industry. #theRetailLawyer #retailers #retailevolution #attorneyadvertisement #CatalystBrands https://lnkd.in/eii9ubCU

And the circus continues!! Another court has acted to halt FINCEN's BOIR deadline. Stay tuned. . . . #TheRetailLawyer #CTA #BOIR #attorneyadvertisement #retailers #smallbusiness https://lnkd.in/gRdfymyE

BOI filing requirement under The Corporate Transparency Act is back on. It's delayed a bit but it's back on. FINCEN has pushed the deadline to Jan 13, 2025. I will republish my recent newsletter article explaining the process on my feed. #TheRetailLawyer #CTA #BOI #FINCEN #attorneyadvertisement https://lnkd.in/gh6AuuFx

Earlier in the year, Macy's announced that it would be closing 150 stores which, of course, would lead to massive layoffs. Those layoffs also included 13% of its corporate staff. On top of all that, recently, there's been an announcement of a large accounting "error" of $154 million being discovered causing Macy's to delay its reporting. Now, not surprisingly, the next shoe has dropped in that activist shareholders are doing what they do and making demands. In this case, the demand is to optimize Macy's real estate holdings. As a former General Counsel of Syms Clothing, this real estate demand against a company struggling to reset its footing in the market is triggering a bit of deja vu for me. #TheRetailLawyer #retailers #macys #activistshareholders #commercialrealestate #attorneyadvertisement #departmentstores #retailevolution https://lnkd.in/eH4eKj56

After being inundated with reminders over the past few months (including my firm newsletter from just last week! -- nothing like great timing on my part) of the impending Beneficial Owner Information Report filing deadline of January 1, 2025 under the Corporate Transparency Act ("CTA"), the deadline has been suspended per the opinion of Judge Mazzant in the Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al.?v. Garland, et al. case (Case No. 4:24-cv-478 (E.D. Tex.)) which was issued on December 3, 2024. FINCEN has since stated that the federal filing requirement is now voluntary. For those of us in NY, we need to keep in mind that the state has passed its own state level version of the CTA which is set to go into effect as of January 1, 2026. As this law literally piggybacks on the federal CTA, we should expect litigation to commence to seek confirmation that the state level CTA is now effectively unconstitutional based on the findings under the Texas Cop Shop case. Stay Tuned! #TheRetailLawyer #CTA #smallbusiness #limitedliabilitycompanies #BOI #retailers https://lnkd.in/ekRXf2yH

One doesn't typically think "fashion collaboration" when thinking about hockey. As a hockey fan (Go ISLES!), I'm curious to see what the NHL collaboration with Lululemon will look like. It's great to see fashion companies continue to seek out unique collaborations seeking out new demographics. #theretaillawyer #NHL #lululemon #fashioncollaboration #retailevolution #attorneyadvertisement https://lnkd.in/eR9nurqj

Walgreens joins the fray in retail drugstore closures following the bankruptcy of Rite Aid (approx. 175 locations between 2023/24) and the announcement by CVS that it will be closing 900 locations in 2024. Walgreens has announced the closure of a walloping 1,200 location. Wow!! Many of these drugstores are in local strip centers. On a positive note (?), these vacancies can make way for the retailers (such as Sephora, Lane Bryant, and - recently announced -- Macy's) who have shifted from enclosed mall strategies to strip centers. #TheRetailLawyer #bricksandmortar #retailevolution #attorneyadvertisement #Walgreens #Macys https://lnkd.in/eQrTZF6Y

Many companies (like Amazon) have already moved to a hybrid work week in this post COVID pandemic era. Despite many having said work arrangements have changed forever and employees will never go back to work for a full in person work week, Amazon is taking the next step walking away from "the new normal" back to what was once considered normal; namely, a full return to the office. Amazon has been a trendsetter since its inception. Will its trendsetter status continue? #TheRetailLawyer #employers #postcovid #returntonormal #attorneyadvertisement #Amazon https://lnkd.in/ezUN2x6h

Have you ever wondered how Shein and Temu have kept their prices so low? Well, other retailers would quickly tell you that it's because both Shein and Temu take advantage of a US customs law loophole whereby imports under $800 are not subject to the same tariffs as the larger shipments more commonly utilized by mainstream retailers. Since neither Shein or Temu have bricks and mortar locations in the US (at least not yet), they have set up their logistics model to ensure significant and continuous use of the loophole. I would think this is one of the issues that the National Retail Federation took into consideration when it denied membership to Shein earlier this year. The US government has taken note of this issue and are proposing new rules to address this unintended use of the de minimis rule. #TheRetailLawyer #USCustoms #NRF #Shein #Temu #attorneyadvertisement #customs #shipping #retailers https://lnkd.in/g6QhBheD