Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

New York -- OfficeMax Inc. and Office Depot have formally announced an agreement under which the two companies would combine in an all-stock merger that would transform the office supply sector of retail. The merger, which creates a single company with nearly $18 billion in revenue, was unanimously approved by the board of directors of both chains.

New York -- Office Depot and OfficeMax are in talks to merge, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

The retailers are discussing as potential stock swap that would result in a single company with nearly $18 billion in revenue, reports said. The combined company would be better positioned to take on Staples, Walmart and other competitors.

The apparent advantage online retailers have over their brick-and-mortar counterparts may soon be gone now that new legislation seeking to enforce the collection of sales tax for all retailers has been introduced.

By Ben Carrasco, litigation associate, Smith, Robertson, Elliott & Douglas, LLP, Austin, Texas,
[email protected]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Consumer Electronics Association has issued praise for the U.S. Congress for introducing legislation to establish sales tax fairness.

New York -- Tiffany & Co. has filed suit against Costco Wholesale Corp., alleging alleges trademark infringement, dilution, counterfeiting, unfair competition, injury to business reputation, false and deceptive business practices and false advertising. Tiffany said it filed the suit “to prevent further sales of counterfeit diamond engagement rings and for damages associated with prior sales.”

ST. PAUL, Minn. — With gun control at the forefront of public debate, it may seem like odd timing for Gander Mountain to open a firearms superstore. Yet, that is exactly what the outdoor retailer is doing in Ohio.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Friday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates estimated that retail imports will increase 8.5% in February, after a contract deal between the East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers is finalized.

The monthly Global Port Tracker report said that, had a key West Coast agreement also been settled, import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports would possibly have seen an additional rise.

Widespread reports have Walmart Foundation president Sylvia Mathews Burwell heading to Washington to serve as President Obama’s director of the Office of Management and Budget.