All Legal & Institutional articles

  • News briefs

    Indian footwear industry targets $26 billion in sales by 2030

    2024-12-23T10:40:00Z

    The Indian footwear industry is targeting sales of $26 billion by 2030, including $8 billion of export revenues. Currently, the footwear market, both leather and non-leather, is estimated at $18 billion, including $6 billion in exports. The government aims to increase local manufacturing capacity, enhance quality standards and strengthen the ...

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    Birkenstock loses appeal against Aldi over sandal design

    2024-12-18T17:15:00Z

    Birkenstock has lost an appeal in a legal dispute with Aldi over the design of a sandal featuring a large buckle, sold by the German discount supermarket chain. Birkenstock had filed several claims against Aldi, including violations of design and competition law, as well as demands for information and financial ...

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    Article

    EU and Mercosur conclude free trade agreement talks

    2024-12-06T15:58:00Z

    After 25 years of negotiations, the European Union and Mercosur countries have concluded talks on a free trade agreement, according to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. ”We have concluded the negotiations for the EU-Mercosur agreement. It marks the beginning of a new story. I now ...

  • News briefs

    EU-Mercosur free trade deal “in sight”

    2024-12-05T15:54:00Z

    A free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur countries is “in sight” after 25 years of negotiations, according to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. “Touchdown in Latin America. The finish line of the EU-Mercosur agreement is in sight. Let’s work, let’s cross it. ...

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    Article

    French parliament opposes EU-Mercosur deal

    2024-11-27T19:47:00Z

    The French senate and the lower house of Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, have rejected a tentative free trade agreement negotiated by the European Commission and Mercosur. On Nov. 27, 338 senators out of 348 voted against the draft agreement. The day before, 484 members of the lower house approved ...

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    Le Coq Sportif placed into receivership

    2024-11-27T11:00:00Z

    A Paris-based commercial court has placed Le Coq Sportif into receivership. The Swiss group Airesis, which owns 75 percent of the French sportswear firm, indicated that Le Coq Sportif had applied to open a judicial restructuring procedure. The court confirmed the procedure. Le Coq Sportif will continue operating but has ...

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    Article

    CEC and Abicalçados call for a swift conclusion of EU-Mercosur free trade talks

    2024-11-19T12:18:00Z

    CEC, the European footwear confederation, and Abicalçados, which represents Brazilian shoemakers, are among the 78 business associations representing a diverse array of industries from the European Union (EU) and Mercosur asking their governments to rapidly conclude negotiations for a free trade agreement between the two economic blocks. Mercosur was established ...

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    Hardrige to supply shoes to the French prime minister’s office

    2024-11-15T10:45:00Z

    Hardrige has won a €760,000 contract to supply shoes to the staff of the French Prime Minister’s office for four years. The company is expected to provide between 250 and 300 pairs each year. Founded in 1985, the family-owned company is located in Sillans, in the French department of Isère. ...

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    Article

    Tapestry, Capri scrap plans to merge

    2024-11-15T10:45:00Z

    Tapestry, the US owner of the fashion brands Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, has reached an agreement to terminate plans to merge with Capri Holdings, which owns the brands Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo. “Capri and Tapestry mutually agreed that terminating the merger agreement at this time is ...

  • Stuart Weitzman
    Article

    Stuart Weitzman’s sales rise driven by North America

    2024-11-11T11:46:00Z

    Stuart Weitzman, the premium footwear brand of the US fashion group Tapestry, posted sales of $53.7 million in the fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 28, up by 2 percent year-on-year both on a reported basis and at constant currency rates, as growth in North America offset “softness” in Greater China. ...

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    Article

    Capri and Tapestry’s merger blocked by a US court

    2024-10-25T15:53:00Z

    A US judge has blocked an $8.5 billion planned merger between the luxury goods groups Capri Holdings and Tapestry. Capri owns the luxury footwear brand Jimmy Choo as well as the fashion labels Versace and Michael Kors. Meanwhile, Tapestry owns the premium footwear group Stuart Weitzman and the fashion brands ...

  • German Bundestag
    Article

    ​German retailers voice concerns about increasing red tape

    2024-10-18T16:52:00Z

    Faced with economic uncertainty, German retailers are calling for urgent reforms to alleviate the mounting bureaucratic hurdles that many say are crippling their businesses. According to a survey conducted by HDE, the German retail association, 89 percent of panelists reported being overwhelmed by excessive regulations, with a whopping 97 ...

  • News briefs

    Schuhquadrat files for bankruptcy in Austria

    2024-10-17T15:29:00Z

    Schuhquadrat GmbH, the successor of the Salamander and Delka footwear chains in Austria, has filed for bankruptcy, the creditor protection association KSV1870 announced. The insolvency proceedings were initiated following a creditor’s application, although no specific details about the company’s debt or the number of affected employees have been disclosed. ...

  • Assocalzaturifici
    Article

    C-Suite interview - Trade shows have to speak the same language as exhibitors

    2024-10-10T11:27:00Z

    On Sept. 9, 2024, Assocalzaturifici, the Italian association of shoemakers, announced the appointment of Giorgio Possagno as General Manager. The position had been vacant since the departure of Tommaso Cancellara on April 5, 2022. Aged 53, Possagno started his career with the tire maker Pirelli, where he worked at the ...

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    Austrian trade association files complaint against Temu

    2024-10-10T08:37:00Z

    Austrian retailers are trying to hold their ground against the rapid rise of the Chinese low-cost online marketplace Temu. The Austrian retail association, Handelsverband Österreich, has lodged a twelve-page complaint with the Austrian federal competition authority, BWB, against Temu, citing deceptive business practices and calling on the authorities to ...

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    Italian regulator probes Shein for allegedly misleading sustainability claims

    2024-09-25T15:58:00Z

    The Italian antitrust agency, AGCM, has launched an investigation into Infinite Styles Services CO. Limited, a Dublin-based company that manages the Italian website of the Chinese fast fashion group Shein, for allegedly misleading information regarding the “environmental sustainability” of the retailer’s clothing. The agency believes that some content included in ...

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    US to plug trade loophole on low-value China shipments

    2024-09-13T16:15:00Z

    The US government said it was taking steps to protect “American consumers, workers and businesses” from the “overuse and abuse” of a trade law that allows low-value shipments to come into the US without paying import duties and taxes. The so-called “de minimis” loophole allows shipments worth less than $800 ...

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    Article

    Skechers sues Rockport for alleged patent infringement

    2024-09-13T16:15:00Z

    Skechers filed a lawsuit on Sept. 4 in the Southern District of New York, accusing Rockport, its parent company, Authentic Brands Group (ABG), and its licensee, Marc Fisher Footwear, of selling shoes that allegedly infringe on its slip-in technology. “Rockport shoes infringe Skechers’ utility patent claims protecting innovations associated with ...

  • News briefs

    China to gradually increase the retirement age

    2024-09-13T15:58:00Z

    China’s lawmakers have approved a proposal to gradually increase the retirement age, the news agency Xinhua reported. The legal retirement age will be increased from 60 to 63 years for men and to 55 from 50, or from 55 to 58 based on one’s employment, for women. The increase of ...

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    Superga and Sebago licensee CMH Consulting files for bankruptcy

    2024-07-22T14:01:00Z

    Superga and Sebago’s licensee CMH Consulting, Management and Handel has filed for bankruptcy. The company, based in Kufstein, Austria, has held since 2013 the license in Germany and Austria for the two brands owned by the Italian group BasicNet. CMH Consulting applied for restructuring proceedings without self-administration. Around ...