Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

The way has been cleared for retailers to challenge swipe fees in the coming years.    The Supreme Court on Monday declined to reinstate a class-action lawsuit settlement that would have blocked merchants from challenging Visa and MasterCard over credit card swipe fees.    

Home Depot disclosed an ongoing Environmental Protection Agency investigation into its lead safety practices related to its installation services business.   In an SEC filing published on Thursday, Home Depot disclosed an investigation by the EPA's criminal investigation division into its compliance with lead-safe work practices. Home Depot is currently cooperating with the EPA, having previously responded to civil document requests from several EPA regions.  

Industry experts are predicting that Bebe stores will be the next apparel retailer to declare Chapter 11.   The fashion retailer on Thursday said it had retained B. Riley & Co.as financial advisor, and has also has hired a real estate advisor to “assist with options related to its lease holdings."  

Jeff Gordman, the former CEO of Gordmans, plans to submit a bid for the bankrupt 106-store chain that would rescue it from liquidation. But he isn’t the only interested party.   

Bolstered by positive consumer indicators, retail CFOs are largely optimistic for 2017. But competition and consolidation could cloud their outlook.    That’s according to BDO USA’s 11th annual Retail Compass Survey of CFOs, in which respondents predict a 4.9% bump in total sales this year, up from 3.4% in 2016. The bullish predictions are echoed by online sales projections, with a 10.7% increase expected for the year ahead — the highest in survey history.   

Bankrupt Hhgregg Inc.’s proposed purchase by an anonymous buyer has collapsed.   

There is another development in Walgreens’ quest to acquire Rite Aid.  

Diane K. Lettelleir, senior managing counsel of JCPenney Corp., discusses why retailers can’t wait for the government to solve the patent troll problem in the commentary below:    JCPenney and numerous other retailers have been hunted for the last decade by patent trolls that aggressively file suits based on overly broad claims in patents against related but distinct technologies. JCPenney alone has endured dozens of patent troll lawsuits over this period.