Legal & Institutional – Page 6
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ArticleThe U.K. to regulate the “buy now pay later” market
The British government announced that the increasingly popular interest-free ”buy now pay later” (BNPL) credit agreements will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in order to protect consumers. The government noted that the volume of transactions involving BNPL solutions more than tripled in 2020 as the pandemic drove ...
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ArticleItalian shoemakers seek geographical indication protection from EU
The municipality of Monte Urano, led its mayor, Moira Canigola, is seeking to obtain geographical indication protection from the European Commission for the footwear cluster located in the Fermo-Macerata area in the Marche region. The town asked the Commission to consider widening IG protection to non-food products. Canigola said that ...
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EU Commission calls to ‘strongly discourage’ intra-EU travel
The European Commission has proposed the European Council to discourage non-essential travel between European Union member states amid high Covid-19 infection rates and concerns about new virus variants, while avoiding border closures or blanket prohibitions that would impede the functioning of the internal market and supply chains. “The Commission proposes ...
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ArticleEU, China reach in principle an agreement on investments
After seven years of talks, the European Union and China have agreed in principle on an investment agreement after their leaders met on a conference call on Dec. 30. The parties had set the end of 2020 as the deadline to strike a deal. The European Commission said that the ...
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ArticleU.K. signs free trade agreements with Turkey, EU
The U.K. and Turkey have signed tariff-free trading arrangements and are committed to reach a ”more ambitious” agreement in the future, according to the British Department for International Trade . The free trade agreement was signed by the U.K.’s International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss and Turkey’s Minister for Trade, Ruhsar ...
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ArticleKering investigated by French financial prosecutor
Kering said that the French financial public prosecutor (Parquet National Financier) has opened a preliminary inquiry concerning the company in February 2019. The French luxury goods group added that it had not previously been informed of the inquiry. The comments come following media reports about the prosecutor investigating the company ...
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ArticleClarks’ landlords criticize the rescue plan’s terms
The British shoe maker Clarks has been accused of freezing landlords out of discussions over its £100 million (€110.9m-$130.0m) bailout by Hong Kong-based private equity firm LionRock Capital. Landlords are furious that despite facing large losses on rent write-offs, they will only represent 25 percent of a vote to approve ...
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ArticleEU estimates Amazon broke competition rules
The European Commission believes Amazon violated competition rules by unfairly benefiting from non-public data on independent sellers who use its marketplace, it said in its preliminary findings from an antitrust investigation underway against the American e-commerce giant since last year. The European Union’s executive body added it was also launching ...
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ArticleKurt Geiger plans 500 job cuts over U.K. plan to drop tax-free shopping
Kurt Geiger, a luxury footwear and accessories retailer, plans 500 job cuts, affecting over a quarter of its workforce, early next year after the British government announced that it would abolish tax-free shopping on Dec. 31. The standard value-added tax (VAT) is 20 percent in the U.K. In a letter ...
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ArticleAktiv Schuh, bankruptcy proceedings opened
Just a little more than two months after the ailing shoe retailer Aktiv Schuh filed for bankruptcy, the district court of Berlin-Charlottenburg officially announced the start of insolvency proceedings under self-administration. According to a statement from the court, the proceedings were opened on Oct. 1 and Torsten Martini of the ...
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EU agrees on common rules for travel restrictions due to Covid-19
The European Council has adopted a recommendation on a coordinated approach to travel restrictions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The council comprises the heads of state or government of the countries forming the European Union, as well as the president of the council and of the European Commission. ...
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ArticleGlobal talks on digital tax prolonged to 2021
The 137 countries involved in talks on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) due to the digitalization of the economy have agreed to keep working towards an agreement on the taxation of digital companies by mid-2021, thus acknowledging that they will fail to strike a deal by the end of ...
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ArticleCCC Germany files for insolvency under self-administration after pandemic hits sales
The coronavirus pandemic throws yet another footwear chain into disarray, after extended lockdowns last spring and a sluggish summer sent sales plummeting. German footwear retailer CCC Germany GmbH filed for self-administration proceedings under the German insolvency legislation at the Osnabrück District Court. The company, a subsidiary of HR ...
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ArticleVRG reaches deal with creditors, to proceed with capital hike
The board of Venue Retail Group (VRG), a retailer of shoes, bags and accessories that operates in Sweden and Norway, has decided to proceed with a Swedish Krona 94.5 million (€8.9m-$10.4m) rights issue. The Swedish company has received subscription commitments and guarantee commitments totaling approximately SEK 73.5 million (€6.9m-$8.1m). The ...
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ArticleSioux completes restructuring of wholesale division
Less than three months after filing for insolvency, Sioux GmbH successfully underwent a restructuring that will allow the wholesale business to remain part of Sioux Group. The company, which deals with shoe retailers for the Sioux Group, is being taken over by Sioux Schuh GmbH, a newly established subsidiary of ...
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ArticleU.S. delays TikTok ban to Sept. 27 as Trump gives blessing to deal with Oracle, Walmart
The U.S. Department of Commerce said that it has delayed until Sept. 27 the prohibition of the Chinese mobile application TikTok. The department had previously announced that the ban would start today. The decision comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had given his “blessing” to a proposed deal ...
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ArticlePeter Kaiser files for insolvency
Peter Kaiser Schuhfabrik has filed for insolvency with a local court in Pirmasens, Germany. The so-called protective shield procedure, which will enable the company to continue trading under restructuring, was motivated by a decline in sales stemming from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Peter Kaiser’s business operations continue without ...
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ArticleAmazon: The Janus-faced company
The current Covid-19 crisis has accelerated Amazon’s consumer goods business exponentially. The Silicon Valley giant doubled its profits in the second quarter of this year and increased its turnover to nearly $89 billion. The share value has also nearly doubled since the middle of March. On Sept. 1, Amazon announced ...
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ArticleTheo Henkelman, Only A Shoes follow FNG Group into bankruptcy
The two Dutch shoe companies Theo Henkelman and Only A Shoes had to file for bankruptcy in the wake of the insolvency of part of the Belgian fashion firm FNG Group. The bankruptcy proceedings started on Aug. 10 for the two Dutch units. The administrator in charge of managing the ...
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ArticleMoreschi’s relaunch is in turmoil
The Moreschi family is seeking to block the transfer of a 50.37 percent in the namesake company to Hurley, a Swiss company run by Guido Scalfi, on the grounds that an agreement to relaunch the company is not being respected. In a statement, the Moreschi family said “we will not ...
