Kim Wright
Senior Associate
Bristol
95 results ordered by
On the 22 March 2023, the European Commission published its proposal for a new 'Green Claims Directive' setting out standardised rules for the assessment, substantiation and communication of green claims.
Read moreEnvironmental issues are high on the agenda for many consumers and businesses alike. They are also increasingly an area of focus for competition authorities around the world, including the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), who are keen to ensure that competition law concerns do not unnecessarily prevent businesses from collaborating legitimately on environmental sustainability initiatives.
Read more"Sustainability" is the new buzzword in marketing.
Read moreWhen the Brexit transition period ended, so did the alignment of EU law with UK domestic law.
Read moreIt's been a little over a year in the making, and it's been one of the most hotly anticipated legislative updates since it was first announced in April 2022, but the first draft of the UK's catchily titled Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, is finally here.
Read moreRPC's Retail Compass explores impact of regulatory reforms, rising ESG concerns and fast-evolving AI technology in difficult economic conditions.
Read moreWelcome to our Spring edition of Retail Compass, where we guide you through the key legal and policy changes affecting retail and consumer brands and provide our thoughts on those crucial, need-to-know issues.
Read moreFollowing its public consultation, the CMA has published its advice to government on how competition and consumer laws can help meet the UK's environmental goals.
Read moreThe term "artificial intelligence" (AI) describes a range of technologies that enable machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as the ability to comprehend, act and learn.
Read moreHistorically, consumers purchased products on the high street from particular retailers or from specific consumer brands' shops. Repeat visitors in store were commonplace. However, consumers now have a swathe of buying routes available to them – whether to purchase goods in-store, through a large range of retailers or online. Whilst hugely beneficial in some respects, this can present challenges for retailers in the event of needing to initiate a product recall. How do you track down the relevant consumers in such circumstances, and to what lengths are retailers and consumer brands expected to go?
Read moreThe adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) on our roads is growing, and with that comes an increased demand for EV charging points. However, the uneven distribution of EV charging points across the country is now presenting an opportunity for retailers in the fight for customers.
Read moreAs consumers increasingly demand more sustainable products, businesses are innovating to reduce their environmental impact. This has driven an increase in the use of 'green' marketing claims and, with it, increased scrutiny by consumer regulators seeking to protect consumers from the risk of 'greenwashing'. Significant developments are ongoing in this area, both in the UK and the EU.
Read moreWith public focus on political issues running high, the possibility of protests interrupting your business should be on every retailer and consumer brand's risk management agenda.
Read moreAlmost all UK businesses (approximately 98%) now operate online in some capacity, benefiting hugely from an increased use of online websites, social media accounts, and online banking
Read moreWith climate change at the forefront of the ESG agenda, the employment relationship, and the opportunities to engage with the workforce on this subject, are crucial ingredients in the quest to becoming a truly green retailer.
Read moreThe UK is set to introduce a wide array of changes to its consumer protection legislation and competition regime. The focus of the changes revolves around giving greater protection to consumers over subscription traps, tackling fake reviews and improving enforcement. The latter is likely to bring in GDPR/competition law-level fines for breaches of consumer protection legislation or non-compliance with the CMA's investigations or remedies, with maximum fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover.
Read moreAs consumers battle with the rising cost of living, many face difficult decisions about how they will finance their spending.
Read moreWith the most wanted items selling out in the blink of an eye, consumers are leveraging automation to get ahead. Is the use of bots creating more than a moral dilemma for retailers?
Read moreOnce the province of online gaming and social media, the metaverse is the new hot topic in retail.
Read moreWelcome to this bumper Autumn edition of Retail Compass, where we guide you through key upcoming legal and policy changes affecting Retail and Consumer Brands and provide our thoughts on those crucial, need-to-know issues.
Read moreOn Monday 20 June 2022, HM Treasury responded to its consultation on proposals to extend regulation to unregulated Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) products. This consultation closed in January 2022. The Treasury's response confirmed the scope of regulation will cover BNPL products and short-term interest free credit (STIFC) provided by third-party lenders.
Read moreIn the Spring 2022 edition of Retail Compass, we reported on the Government's consultation on regulations covering extended producer responsibility (EPR) which places the financial burden of dealing with packaging once it becomes waste on producers as opposed to taxpayers.
Read moreIn an attempt to tackle obesity in the UK, in particular childhood obesity, a swathe of restrictions on the placement and promotion of HFSS products in-store and online will be introduced in phases from October 2022 to January 2024.
Read moreOn 25 February 2022, HM Treasury launched a consultation exploring the possible introduction of an online sales tax (OST) to address the imbalance resulting from the higher business rates applying to in store retailers, compared to online businesses. The consultation closed on 20 May 2022.
Read moreUK consumer regulators, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), are ramping up their enforcement of green claims to protect consumers from 'greenwashing'
Read moreFor those operating in the retail sector (amongst others), 1st June 2022 saw changes to the UK and EU competition law rules and the "safe harbour" or exemption from the application of competition law for certain types of vertical agreements, i.e. for contractual parties operating at different levels of the supply chain.
Read more• M&A targeting fashion retailers particularly active
Read moreHave you noticed that overnight, seemingly every poster on London's streets and billboard in its tube stations advertise a service that will magic groceries to your front door in an impossibly short timeframe? These are signifiers of the battle being fought in the instant grocery delivery space.
Read moreWelcome to the Spring edition of Retail Compass, where we guide you through the key legal and policy changes affecting retail and consumer brands and provide our thoughts on those crucial, need-to-know issues.
Read moreWith consumers increasingly demanding greener and more sustainable products, retailers and consumer brands are busy innovating in an effort to reduce the environmental impact of their business, products and services.
Read moreAs focus moves from short term lockdown liquidity on to longer term financing needs, loan facilities linked to ESG and sustainability targets are back in the news.
Read moreAs focus moves from short term lockdown liquidity on to longer term financing needs, loan facilities linked to ESG and sustainability targets are back in the news.
Read moreThe government is set to introduce measures to further reduce the circulation of single-use plastics and encourage the use of recycled plastic. The measures are expected to influence all aspects of the retail supply chain and have a particular impact on the food and drink sector.
Read moreProtections provided to commercial tenants under CIGA and the Coronavirus Act 2020 are due to end on 31 March 2021 and now, more than ever, landlords are having to explore the possibility of entering into non-standard leasing arrangements.
Read moreWith Monday's announcement from Boris Johnson, and the vaccination programme gathering speed, you will, hopefully, soon be re-opening your stores and offices, bringing more of your colleagues back to work.
Read moreWelcome to the Spring edition of Retail Compass. We present our guide to the key upcoming legal and policy changes affecting Retail and our thoughts on the need-to-know issues - as retailers look forward to a post-pandemic landscape.
Read moreHMRC has the right to go back up to five years when considering businesses’ (including retailers’) records relating to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the “furlough scheme”) and will be able to clawback funds which have been claimed in error, or fraudulently, under new powers contained in the Finance Bill 2020, which is expected to become law in the latter half of 2020.
Read moreAs retail workforces continue to be re-organised, what kind of employment claims could be brought by employees in the coming months, in light of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (or furlough scheme) and what can you do in anticipation?
Read moreIn recent years, health and wellbeing has been big business in the UK. The COVID-19 outbreak has only further stoked the desire to obtain and maintain healthy minds and bodies and the trend looks set to continue, across the retail sector.
Read moreAt the start of the year, Veganuary hit the headlines, with the British public challenged to ditch animal by-products in favour of a plant-based diet for the month of January.
Read moreAt the start of the year, Veganuary hit the headlines, with the British public challenged to ditch animal by-products in favour of a plant-based diet for the month of January.
Read moreLawyers have called for a break on winding-up petitions against retailers as they fail to pay creditors due to the outbreak. So far, retailers have been hit with 52 winding-up petitions since the beginning of the year, with the numbers accelerating since the coronavirus outbreak took hold, according to lawyers at RPC.
Read moreWith the inevitable impact of the coronavirus on retail businesses, many will be looking to mitigate their losses. One obvious way of doing this would be to use their premises, often their single largest overhead, for other uses. But is this possible and what must you consider?
Read moreIn light of "exceptional and compelling reasons of public policy" arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Secretary of State (the "SoS") has announced temporary competition law arrangements in the groceries sector.
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