What is happening
The decline of the retail industry is perhaps best illustrated through the fact that one in ten town centre stores are now closed across the UK. From November to December 2019, the sector saw a 0.9% fall in sales. This decline was partly driven by online sales rising by 2.6% in the same period[1]. The modern ease of connecting goods or services to clients has led to the decline of retail stores. The benefit of shopping instore was that the item was available to take away on that day, however next day delivery is now commonplace. The reliance of this evidences a change in customers buying habits, as now convenience is valued. Although there are signs within the sector that certain shopping centres are thriving, this is as a result of centralisation[2]. Shoppers visit the places where there is the largest variety of stores and goods, which is often found in large city centre shopping centres. In turn, this is taking money out of local towns and creating further opportunities within big cities. This can be seen in Bishop Auckland[3], where one in five stores are closing down in their town centre. Despite a petition to block the local Marks and Spencer’s from moving to a large shopping complex the financial incentive was too much to discourage the company.
How will this affect the legal industry
DLA Piper assists Certilogo implement innovative systems and anti-counterfeiting measures for designer brands such as Diesel. They also create systems which gather and interpret data[4], this leads to better customer relationship management as instead of generic advertisements products are marketed to individuals. This is why you get advertisements for your favourite brands on Facebook or Instagram. Law firms are changing the way they offer advice as now they have to advise on how the data can be used. For example, in addition to marketing it also relates to the internal processes such as managing inventories and distribution. This new age also places companies, perhaps unexpectedly, onto the world stage. This brings difficulties in regard to the various legal obligations which must be adhered to, such as requirements for labelling and packaging. Products sold in America[5] are required to be ‘marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently’[6] as the article will allow. This may present issues to companies which are predominately based in countries which do not necessarily require this. Law firms therefore will need to consider this to ensure their clients are operating efficiently. If they are able to advise correctly, they may be able to save their client’s money, time and resources.
Written by Amir Ali
The assessing law firms: #Eversheds #DLAPiper #Clyde&Co #FreshfieldsBruckhausDeringer #BakerMckenzie #White&Case
References:
[1] Sarah butler ‘UK retail industry suffered worst year on record in 2019’ (9th January 2020)
[2] Clifford Guy, ‘High Street' Retailing in Off-Centre Retail Parks: A Review of the Effectiveness of Land Use Planning Policies’ (1998)
[3] Sarah butler ‘UK retail industry suffered worst year on record in 2019’ (9th January 2020)
[4] Marialuisa Taddia ‘Market focus: retail’ (19th September 2016)
[5] United states Government ‘Compliance FAQs: Packaging and labelling in the US’ (September 11th 2017, updated November 15th 2019)
[6]Title 19, United States Code, Chapter 4, Section 1304 and 19 CFR 134, Country of Origin Marking
Disclaimer: This article (and any information accessed through links in this article) is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.