Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

A Trump administration increases the chance that Walgreens Boots Alliance will successfully close its proposed acquisition of Rite Aid, though the deal's actual closing date may be extended further into first quarter 2017, according to a Seeking Alpha report.   

Beleaguered American Apparel has filed its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in just a little over a year. But this time around its future as a retailer looks even more uncertain.  

As the country continues to nurse its emotional Election Day hangover, businesses, including retailers, are contemplating what policies from President Elect Trump’s agenda will be tackled first in an effort to “Make America Great Again.”   

Retailers and other employers of minimum-wage earners can expect to see their labor costs go up in four states.    Voters in the states of Colorado, Maine, Washington, and Arizona all approved measures to raise their state’s minimum wage in Tuesday’s election.   The biggest hike will be in Maine, where the minimum hourly pay will increase from $7.50 to $12 by 2020, and later increasing with inflation.    

The unexpected election of Donald Trump as president has serious implications for the retail supply chain, which could especially effect online commerce,    

The results of yesterday's elections will affect a number of issues facing retailers, including infrastructure, tax reform, trade, immigration, labor and health care.       Craig Shearman, National Retail Federation (which does not endorse presidential candidates) looks at how President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress could impact the industry.  

Because of the tone and tenor of the presidential campaign, lots of folks might be surprised to learn there are many other significant races going on across the country. These so-called “down-ballot” elections for governors’ offices, U.S. House and Senate seats, state legislatures and other offices may hold the real clues for what the next four years entail for employers, no matter who wins the White House. Believe it or not, there are substantive candidates actually discussing substantive kitchen table issues that impact families and communities.

The hits keep on coming for the embattled American Apparel Inc., which is reportedly on the brink of its second bankruptcy filing in less than two years.   

Lumber Liquidators widened its net loss in the third quarter, though the retailer did move the needle on net sales, which rose 3.4%.   Lumber Liquidators reported a bigger-than-expected net loss of $18.4 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of $8.5 million in the year-ago period, amid higher-than-expected expenses, including legal fees, as the company continues to rebound from last year's investigation into formaldehyde levels in flooring it had previously sold.