Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot is accelerating its previously announced plan to close at least 400 stores as the retailer awaits its acquisition by Staples.

After shuttering a greater than expected 99 stores in the second quarter, Office Depot boosted its 2015 store closing target to 175 locations, with another 60 due to close in 2016. The closings are on top of 153 closings throughout 2014, including 108 stores in the fourth quarter of last year.

New York -- Friends of Howard Schultz, the outspoken and politically progressive founder and CEO of Starbucks, are urging him to enter the Democratic race for President, according to a report by Fortune.

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New York -- American Express Co and Costco Wholesale Corp. are at it again.

A lawsuit has been filed accusing American Express of misleading investors about the loss of its contract with Costco after having failed to reveal how significant that business had become to the credit-card company, Reuters reported.

Boston – Massachusetts will have a tax holiday the weekend of Aug. 15-16, if the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) has anything to say about it. The ICSC has sent a letter to Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker asking him to sign the sales tax holiday legislation currently on his desk.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly making sure its suppliers understand expectations for labeling of products.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the retailer recently sent a memo to hundreds of suppliers, including major CPG firms such as Kraft Heinz Co. and Nestle, reminding them that the amount of an item inside a package must match the amount stated on the outside label.

Atlanta -- A sizeable number of businesses won’t meet the EMV transition deadline, according to a survey by Randstad Technologies.

Framingham, Mass. – Off-price retailer T.J. Maxx provides “compare at” prices that tell shoppers how much cheaper an item is than it would be at a full-price department store, but how truthful are those comparisons?    According to a class action lawsuit brought against T.J. Maxx in San Francisco by two customers, Staci Chester and Daniel Friedman, “compare at” pricing leaves a lot of wiggle room for the retailer.  

Washington, D.C. - Following up on last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the National Retail Federation (NRF) and other business groups today urged Congress to move quickly on reforms to the five-year-old healthcare law.

“We write to urge Congress to put priority attention toward easing the cost and compliance burdens associated with the Affordable Care Act,” the groups said in a letter to members of the House and Senate.