This post originally appeared on the Council of Fashion Designers of America website, CFDA.com.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, fashion retail already faced difficult times with numerous bankruptcies, such as Barneys, Sonia Rykiel, Roberto Cavalli and Diesel.  Now with COVID-19, fashion retail confronts a “perfect storm” — the hurricane of the disruption of brick and mortar retail caused by omnichannel retailing and the Nor’easter resulting from the shutdown of all retail stores and lockdown of consumers in the US.  It is anticipated that retail bankruptcy filings will proliferate in the wake of COVID-19 and, as a result, it is important to have a basic understanding of the bankruptcy process and concepts for fashion businesses, including Chapters 11 and 7, critical vendor status, how to file a claim, and what strategies can be used to sell to an entity once it has filed for bankruptcy.…
Continue Reading Fashionista’s Guide to Bankruptcy: What Every Designer Needs to Know to be Protected in Times of Economic Uncertainty

This post originally appeared on the Council of Fashion Designers of America website, CFDA.com.

You’ve worked so hard to get your foot in the door with that prized retailer, striving mightily to please them. They’ve finally supported your line and you just shipped them a big order for Fall 2020. But that same retailer has now filed Chapter 11. What can you do to protect your inventory in the bankruptcy proceeding? Should you continue to do business with the retailer during the bankruptcy? And what can you do to avoid these problems in the future with other retailers? This article will briefly address these questions and provide some basic strategies to help guide the designer/manufacturer in these difficult times.…
Continue Reading Protecting Your Inventory and Getting Paid

As we move into the second quarter of 2020, governments around the country are analyzing how to best open up their economies. Part of this will include people returning to work, restaurants, retail establishments, and other places of public accommodation. Landlords, business owners, and others want to know how to take steps to reopen safely while government mitigation efforts are being developed to help slow the spread of COVID-19 until a vaccine is developed. And where authorities don’t have specific mitigation efforts, instituting protocols will fall squarely on landlords, business owners, and those who operate places of public accommodation.…
Continue Reading Taking Temperatures During COVID-19: A Practical Toolkit

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidance concerning COVID-19, affirming an employer’s ability to medically test its employees for COVID-19 before allowing employees to enter the workplace.  The new guidance expands employers’ options to include medical tests that detect the presence of the COVID-19 virus – not just temperature checks.  The EEOC considers COVID-19 tests to be permissible because an individual with the virus poses a direct threat to the health of others.…
Continue Reading As America Prepares to Return to Work, EEOC Approves Testing Employees for COVID-19

Enter for a chance to win!  Advertising lawyers are forever reminding their clients to be clear that when a promotion is a sweepstakes, messaging needs to be clear that it is a random drawing and not a giveaway.  Recently, fashion brand Draper James reminded us all why that distinction is so important. …
Continue Reading Sweepstakes or Giveaway? Make Sure Your Advertising Is Clear!

With the continuing spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19” or “coronavirus”), retailers are sure to face a number of issues that they can and should prepare for. The primary issues facing retailers will likely be supply chain issues, covered here (The Impact of Coronavirus on Supply Chain), and employment issues, covered here (What Employers Need to Know to Prepare for Coronavirus). This post addresses issues concerning in-store customer interactions. …
Continue Reading Coronavirus And The Retail Industry: Customer Interactions and Safety

With the continuing spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19” or “coronavirus”), retailers are sure to face a number of issues that they can and should prepare for. The primary issues facing retailers will likely be supply chain issues, covered here (The Impact of Coronavirus on Supply Chain), and employment issues, covered here (What Employers Need to Know to Prepare for Coronavirus). This post addresses certain pricing and advertising issues that may also arise as a result of the spread of coronavirus.…
Continue Reading Coronavirus And The Retail Industry: Pricing and Advertising Issues

With the continuing spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19” or “coronavirus”), retailers are sure to face a number of issues that they can and should prepare for. The primary issues facing retailers will likely be supply chain issues, covered here (The Impact of Coronavirus on Supply Chain), and employment issues, covered here (What Employers Need to Know to Prepare for Coronavirus). This post addresses issues involving delivery of orders that may also arise as a result of the spread of coronavirus. …
Continue Reading Coronavirus And The Retail Industry: Delivery Issues