Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

Nordstrom’s decision to stop carrying the Ivanka Trump brand continues to generate controversy.      On Thursday, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, endorsed the first daughter’s products during an appearance on the television show, “Fox & Friends,” saying, “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff … It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it. … I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today. You can find it online.”  

Amid efforts to crack down on the sale of counterfeit goods, Alibaba is in a center of another related fight.   The Chinese e-commerce giant said Thursday, Feb. 9, that several intellectual property (IP) agencies were filing false complaints against vendors that continue to sell fake goods on its e-commerce platforms, said Fortune.   

Sears Holding Corp.’s chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert and the company's board settled a lawsuit alleging that the chief executive benefited from a spin-off deal.   The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Sears and against Lampert, other Sears directors and Seritage Growth Properties, the real estate investment trust established to acquire 235 of the struggling chain’s best stores, reported Reuters.  

The National Retail Federation’s economic forecast for 2017 is a mostly positive one.   The association is projecting that retail industry sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, will grow between 3.7% and 4.2% over 2016, roughly in line with last year’s 3.8% increase.     Online and other non-store/online sales, which are included in the overall number, are expected to increase between 8% and 12%.  

Apparently mind-challenging games and puzzles weren’t big on holiday lists last year.   Marbles: The Brain Store has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with plans to close its 37 stores, reported The Chicago Tribune. In its filing, the Chicago-based retailer cited a "dramatic downturn" in its 2016 holiday business that left it short on cash.   

The Americans with Disabilities Act with be the focus of a special, double-session at Chain Store Age’s upcoming SPECS conference (March 12-14, at the Gaylord Palms, Kissimmee, Florida).     Presented by Joan Stein, president of Joan Stein Consulting and one of the nation’s leading ADA experts, the session will examine non-compliance issues, the impact of after-construction changes, how to avoid mitigation costs, and remediation and business interruption.  

Eastern Outfitters, the parent company of Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob’s Stores, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.     The company listed assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million in its filing        British sporting goods retailer Sports Direct International has engaged in extensive talks with Eastern Outfitters to become a stalking-horse bidder in a bankruptcy auction, Reuters reported.    

Starbucks Corp.’s plan to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years (in its stores in 75 countries around the globe) has proved to be one of the socially progressive retailer’s most controversial moves to date.   The initiative, a response to President Trump’s executive order barring refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, has many conservatives and Trump supporters calling for a boycott of the coffee chain.